The Ville de La Tuque fire brigade in 1915.
When you own such a wonderful territory, it’s not surprising that you spare no effort to protect it. While bush airplanes have long been the first to detect forest fires from high above, it wasn’t long until fire services were set up to fight back the flames.
The restored bell now has pride of place in front of La Tuque fire station.
The first fire brigade was formed on July 14, 1913. It was led by fire chief Ferdinand Pagé and his assistant fire chief Léo Leclerc. A group of 12 residents took on the role of volunteer firefighter. Everyone on this team must have been reckless and always up for a challenge since they risked their lives for $1 an hour and could earn only a meagre $5 per day.
They had to wait almost a year before they could afford the $575 cost of purchasing a horse-drawn fire engine. However, there was a problem. There were no horses in Ville de La Tuque. But that didn’t stop them! The brigade reached an agreement with the F.-X. Lamontagne store to “borrow” their horse. They paid the store owner $2 for each call out. He was evidently a very shrewd businessman.
Five months later, the town purchased its own horse for $300, a substantial amount in 1914. How many times since then have our volunteer firefighters risked their lives to save others? Bravo to each of them!
An imposing bell which was created in 1917 and replaced by a siren on the town hall roof in 1963 now reminds us of the town’s history. This bell that weighs 545 kilos (1,200 pounds) is owned by the Société Historique de la Tuque et du Haut-St-Maurice. It was recovered by Réjean Berman and polished to a shine by Louis Jeffrey. In 2006, it was mounted on a pedestal in front of La Tuque fire station and has remained there ever since. In addition to sounding the alarm in the event of a fire, the bell was also used to signal a 9 p.m. curfew during World War II. Despite this tragic association, it also saved many lives.
