The population swelled to 25,000 and Wichita became a first-class city with of course, a first-class fire department, which was described as efficient and well organized and quick to respond to alarms. But the faster response also brought a new realization that with speed, accidents occur.

For the first time, tragedy came to the department when fireman George Thompkins was killed in the discharge of his duty after only 21 days on the job. On March 27, 1887, while responding to an alarm, the hose wagon Thompkins was driving overturned at the corner of Douglas and Main and he was crushed beneath the vehicle. The firemen who lived and worked with George Thompkins were made aware that death sometimes becomes a silent rider with those involved in firefighting.

In 1888, the frame buildings housing No. 1 and No. 2 equipment were torn down and the new No. 1 and No. 2 hose houses were built at the same locations. Later on in 1890, two more new stations were built to add even more fire protection to the rapidly expanding city. Number 3 Station was built at 13th and 4th Avenue (now St. Francis) and the new No. 4 Station at Chicago (now Douglas) and Seneca took the place of the old No. 5 Ward Hook and Ladder Barn between Oak and Osage on Chicago (Douglas).

The Wichita Fire Department, under the direction of a very dedicated and capable leader, in every sense had come of age. It would only continue to grow and prosper in the years ahead - those years of glory.

When No. 1 Hose House was built, it included a training tower on which the firemen would learn hose and ladder drills. Six years after the pompier ladder (invented in France) came to the United States, firemen in Wichita were using it in training.

Those were the days of romance for the Fire Department. Horses on all the equipment somehow added to the glamour and excitement of the fire runs. To hear the thunder of hooves, to see a team of horses galloping full out with flared nostrils and straining muscles, sparks flying from the wheels as they rounded a corner was, as one old timer stated, something wonderful to behold.

The horses were well cared for by the drivers who saw to it that they were in good health and ready for the next alarm. Whenever a horse became sick or injured, a report had to be made immediately to Assistant Chief Engineer Brownewell or Chief Engineer Walden, who saw that the veterinarian was notified. All the horses had to be exercised for one hour daily and this was done by the driver who would ride one horse and lead the other. While exercising, the horses could not be taken beyond a radius of an eighth of a mile from their respective house. According to the orders, each driver under the direction of the foreman was required to feed, groom and exercise the horses at the stated hours (before 9 a.m.) and have the care of the stable and harness. He was to have the horses ready at all times for immediate use. He was held responsible for damage to the horses and equipment and any abuse of a horse was grounds for dismissal.

Instructions were, not to drive too fast, no racing under any circumstances and to proceed to the fire in single file. When returning after the fire, the horses were not to be driven out of a trot. Of course, the driver and his team counted on each other, in fact they even slept next to each other. This fact in itself would encourage the driver to keep the stalls in clean condition. The call of "Jackpot" required the driver to clean up the stall and remove the result to a bin in the back of the station.

The driver not only had to keep his horses ready but had the responsibility of getting the equipment to the fire, and at night this was no small chore. There were no electric lights, but some streets were lighted by gasoline blinkers. Some of the streets were totally dark and the drivers would try to gauge his location by looking through the trees for a light between two rows of trees which indicated a street. Kerosene lamps were carried on the wagons but they didn't give much light.

Alarms in those days were received by box or by telephone. The 44 boxes available at this time had to be activated by a key (if you could find one) located sometimes in the crotch of a nearby tree. When the alarm came in, the fireman who was on house patrol (watchman today) wrote down the box number and if by telephone, the address, and tripped the alarm for the house. After the men were on the floor (living quarters were on the second floor and the men had to slide a pole to the apparatus floor), they tripped the release for the horses. Otherwise, the horses would run out the door if they happened to be open. Sometimes in nice weather, the doors were left open and a chain was put across the doors, just in case one of the high-spirited steeds would decide leave before being hitched up. The horses, once released, went to the front of the apparatus and stood while the driver dropped the collars and snapped them into place, crossed the reins and got to his drivers seat. Hitching the teams took considerable time and effort at the very instant they were needed at the scene of a fire.

As usual, when there is necessity, ingenuity provides an answer, this time by a Wichita Fireman R.G. Armstrong. He designed a new quick-hitch for fire teams which was suspended by ropes above the position the horses would respond to when the alarm bell was struck. This became known as the "Armstrong Hitch" which was patented and later manufactured by R.G. Armstrong who later resigned from the department to go into business for himself.

Sometimes it was difficult to get an excited horse to back into proper position (usually a new horse). The team being hitched and ready, the foreman in charge assured that he was responding in his district, gave the signal "Go", and response was made. However, if the alarm was not in the district, the horses had to remain hitched for twenty minutes before being returned to their stalls. Teamwork was essential by everyone including the horses who received a lot of credit from their driver who thought his team was the smartest, strongest and fastest on the department. The driver had to use a little caution in making a run, he had to hold his team back until they got their second wind, otherwise, they would exhaust themselves on a long run and they could be ruined.

There was a story, supposedly true, told about a fire horse that got sick during the night and by using his nose was able to manipulate the lock on his stall and was said to have awakened his driver by pulling the covers off of him in an attempt to get help. As the story was told, the veterinarian was called immediately, however, to no avail since the horse died a couple of hours later.

There are accounts of horses falling on the way to fires. Such as the time old Rowdy fell down while turning a corner and wound up breaking the tongue out of the hose wagon. On another occasion, one of the horses fell down on Douglas and was dragged for a block before they were able to get the hose stopped. There was a team stationed at old Number 2 Hose House on South Topeka named "Jim and Rock." This team was reported to have been the fastest two horses on the Wichita Fire Department. They were said to have been brother "Hamiltonian Steeds," raised by Luke Willis, and sold to the department right after Number 2 Hose House was built.

One day following a fire run, old Jim came down with colic and died. After Jim's death, Rock was turned over to the Street Department to work, hauling dirt and trash. A short time later, Rock was being driven near the station pulling a wagon full of trash when a fire alarm came in, old Rock heard the bell, he whinned, picked up his ears and tore out after the hose wagon, responding to the fire. According to the story teller, old Rock scattered trash all over the street for two blocks before the driver could get him slowed down and under control. In about six months after he left the department, Rock refused to eat his feed and after growing thin and weak, he died. The driver of the team kept a shoe from each horse which he had gilded. Also watch chains were made from the tails of the two horses and each man at Number 2 was given one to keep in memory.

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