Photo from DCFD.com

Yesterday, the District’s Fire Engine Company 24 celebrated a full century of putting out fires. But more than that, the company, which is located in Petworth, commemorated a rich history that includes it being the first one in the city to switch from using horses to motorized vehicles.

In a report on the celebration, WAMU’s Patrick Madden explained the reasoning for the switch:

The main reason D.C. switched from horse-drawn fire engines to motorized ones would resonate with many drivers today: the rising cost of fuel. The only difference from today’s transportation pressures is that back in the 1920’s, when the move was made, it was the cost of fueling the horses — namely, the price of hay — that was climbing.

By comparison, gasoline at the time cost next-to-nothing, says D.C. fire department historian Jim Embrey.

“Unlike today, where gasoline prices are sky-rocketing, gasoline was relatively cheap,” says Embrey, who retired as a lieutenant after serving nearly three decades in the department. “So it was a great economic move for the fire department.”

Embrey says the move to motorized engines had a dramatic impact on fire houses, which until then were effectively large, urban stables. Each station had a hay-loft on the second floor and a lot of the day-to-day duties revolved around caring and cleaning for the horses. Passersby will often see firefighters hosing down their ladder trucks on a Saturday, and that tradition dates back to the horse-drawn days when firefighters would clean-out the stable.

The transition to motorized fire trucks wasn’t all that smooth, though — firemen grew attached to their horses, despite the, uh, “clean-out” associated with them.