Knoxville's Fire Department in Action (1915)

Postcard of Knoxville's Fire Dept. HQ & the Central YMCA. 
(Courtesy of Walter & Mary Lee Bates)

The early 1910s was a time of transition not only for Knoxville's fire department, but also fire departments across America. The response in the wake of the 1911 New York City Triangle Shirtwaist Fire tragedy that killed 146 workers was overwhelming. The Triangle Shirtwaist fire changed America, igniting a wave of investigations that resulted in significant fire safety reforms across American cities. In addition to fire safety reforms, American fire departments initiated civil service reform in which firemen were no longer elected by city fathers, but rather selected based on their abilities and skills. It was also a time in which fire departments became motorized. The following film, from the Thompson Family Film Collection preserved by TAMIS (Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound), captures the Knoxville Fire Department in 1915 "responding to an alarm" from its main headquarters located on Commerce Avenue.