- Police/Fire - Janesville Sesquicentennial
-
- [Photograph; caption reads: The fire steamer was shown at
work at the Armour Street well back in 1902.]
-
- Father-son chiefs held office 32 years
- Two chiefs of the Janesville Fire Department were exactly
what the cliche says: "Like father, like
- son."
- Cornelius J. MURPHY served as the city's fire chief
from 1919 to 1934. And, you guessed it, his
- son Frank followed in his footsteps.
- Frank joined the fire department the same year his father
became chief. After Cornelius retired,
- Frank was named to succeed him. He wore the chief's hat from
1935 to 1951.
- Cornelius, a child immigrant from Cork, Ireland, was hired
as the city's first paid firefighter on Jan.
- 16, 1888. His appointment largely was attributed to fire
accessibility.
- He drove a water wagon that sprinkled unpaved business streets
to keep dust down. Because
- Cornelius constantly was in the business district with a
team of horses, his horse team was closest to the fire station.
When an alarm sounded, Cornelius raced to the station and transferred
his horses from the water wagon to the fire apparatus.
- Cornelius resigned in April 1892, but the gesture was short-lived.
On May 1, 1893, he returned
- as a call man, a person summoned to duty whenever a fire
bell rang. Cornelius was compensated in this fashion through
June 1, 1905, when he was rehired as a full-time firefighter
and was promoted to second assistant chief.
- On Feb. 1, 1919, Cornelius was named chief to succeed Henry
C. KLEIN. Three months later,
- Frank returned from the army with two war wounds and a string
of distinguished service medals - including the purple heart
- for war service as a captain during the siege of Juvigny, France.
- By August, the boy who lived next to his dad's fire station
and chalked up many days inside the
- firehouse, applied for and got a position on the fire department.
- Frank worked as a firefighter, and also performed inspection
duty. He drove the chief's car and
- worked in the office. From 1924 to 1928, he served as an
electrician. In July 1925, he was promoted to captain.
- Both witnessed many changes to the fire department.
- Cornelius fought some of the city's greatest fires, one of
them the burning of the Milwaukee bridge
- April 1, 1913. He was credited for ordering that a hose with
a revolving stream be inserted in holes the men chopped in the
bridge to stop the fire from wiping out the entire business section.
- He saw a fire department of hand-drawn equipment begin use
of horses, then witnessed the bitter
- rivalry between engine companies in their quest to arrive
at the fire scene first. In 1924, both Cornelius and Frank witnessed
the consolidation of the department and the motorization of the
fire service.
- Before Cornelius retired in February 1934, ill health prevented
him from being at the station on a
- full-time basis. This time, it was his turn to visit the
station daily to see his son.
- Cornelius died in February 1935, and a few months later,
son Frank was appointed to fill his
- father's shoes, doing so until 1951.
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