Hose tower

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Hose tower at Engine House No. 16, present-day Central Ohio Fire Museum Engine House No. 16.jpg
Hose tower at Engine House No. 16, present-day Central Ohio Fire Museum
Hose tower of Erottaja's fire station in Helsinki, Finland Erottajan paloasema kallerna.JPG
Hose tower of Erottaja's fire station in Helsinki, Finland

A hose tower is a structure constructed for hanging firehoses to dry. Hose towers have been features of some fire station designs in Canada, [1] Germany, [2] and the United States. [3] The purpose of such towers was to hang and dry canvas hoses, slowing the deterioration caused if the hoses were not dried thoroughly. [3] Fire stations can also have towers for other purposes: a clock tower or bell tower or drill tower for firemen to practice. In Australia, especially, some fire stations had watch towers for looking for smoke, presumably in relatively flat areas and in spread out low towns where an extra story or two of elevation provided for an extremely wide range of vision, perhaps 360 degrees. Before radio/telephone communications, in the U.S. and Australia and elsewhere, fire lookout towers were also sited on mountain tops or other remote locations with wide views, later, when radio/telephone communications were possible.

Contents

Hose towers are features of many fire stations, perhaps especially in the U.S.

A hose tower and annex building is a feature of a National Historic Landmark district in Greendale, Wisconsin. [4]

In 2001, a campaign was undertaken to restore the only remaining hose tower in Oklahoma. [3]

In 2016, a hose tower mounted on top of the city hall in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, was demolished after much public debate.

In Australia there are examples of fire-hose drying poles, where hoses are drawn by rope pulley up an outdoor pole, in lieu of an entire hose tower structure.

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hose Station No. 4</span> United States historic place

Hose Station No. 4 is located in the Village of East Davenport in Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is a contributing property of the Davenport Village Historic District that has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. The fire station was individually listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 1993. It is one of two old fire stations on the east side of the city that are still in existence. The other one is Hose Station No. 3. The building sits adjacent to Lindsay Park and now houses the International Fire Museum.

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Buford Tower is a tower standing along the north shore of Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin, Texas. The structure was originally built in 1930 as a drill tower for the Austin Fire Department, but it now serves as a bell tower and landmark. Named after fire department Captain James L. Buford, the structure has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2016.

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Radar Hill is a heritage-listed radar station at Gulf Developmental Road, Mount Surprise, Shire of Etheridge, Queensland, Australia. It was built about August 1943 by the Allied Works Council. It is also known as No. 53 RDF Station. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 12 July 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sauk City Fire Station</span> Historic fire station in Sauk City, Wisconsin

The Sauk City Fire Station, begun in 1862, housed the city's early fire department, and served as a center of the community. Today it is one of the oldest fire stations in Wisconsin. It looks much like it did in 1870 - a gable-roofed building with a hose-drying tower. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

References

  1. "Calgary aims to find new purpose for downtown landmark Fire Hall No. 1". CBC News. April 14, 2020.
  2. "Category:Hose towers in Germany by state - Wikimedia Commons".
  3. 1 2 3 "Historic fire hose tower to be restored". The Daily Oklahoman. October 22, 2001 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Picture History: What is a Hose Tower?". Greendale, WI Patch. November 23, 2022.