1857

First Alert Speaking Trumpet

Fire protection is a necessary function of city government. In 1833, Fort Wayne trustees authorized the formation of a volunteer fire company, and in 1834, decreed that multiple volunteer fire companies should be established. The companies were slow to organize. Each was to have a specialty: engine, hose and hook and ladder companies. Each volunteer firefighter was to provide his own accouterments.

The Alert Engine Company No. 1 was organized in August 1856 and shortly thereafter reorganized as the Independent Alert Hook and Ladder Company, before they ultimately joined the city department in the mid 1860s. They were commonly called the First Alert or just Alert Hook and Ladder Co. in later years. Increasingly sophisticated firefighting techniques became necessary as Fort Wayne grew. Volunteer companies disbanded and professional firefighters took over the responsibilities of the volun-teers, resulting in Alert Hook and Ladder Company disbanding in 1886. They were considered the most prestigious volunteer fire-fighting company in the nineteenth century and lasted longer than any other volunteer company in the city. Fort Wayne's fulltime, professional fire department was established by the end of 1881. On 12 May 1882, Henry Hilbrecht embarked on a long and distinguished career as Chief of the fire force. The department was located in an engine house at the corner of Court and Berry Streets.

A cone-shaped speaking trumpet was used by a fire company's foreman and his assistants to focus their verbal commands toward their comrades as they led and coordinated activities at the scene of a fire. Trumpets were iconic symbols within the firefighter fraternity and commemorative versions were often made to mark an event or honor the service of an esteemed colleague. They were decorative, silver-plated and engraved with an appropriate inscription. In August 1857 a Hook & Ladder company from Toledo, Ohio was invited by the Alert Engine Company of Fort Wayne to join in a celebratory parade and banquet to mark their first anniversary in August 1857. During the festivities, the Toledo firefighters pre-sented this horn to their Fort Wayne brethren. It is engraved: "Presented to Alert Engine Co. of Fort Wayne by 'Independent' Hook & Ladder Co. of Toledo Aug 11, 1857." Walter Lindenberg, a Fort Wayne fireman, saved the trumpet from destruction when he retrieved it from the trash during a World War II scrap metal drive.