Red Network and Ladies' Auxiliary
The methods of summonsing help in the event of a fire have changed over the years.
Around 1932, a siren was purchased and placed on top of the Town Hall, a wooden building on the site of today’s Central Fire Station. The button to operate the siren was installed in the telephone office, which was located at 281 Main Street, just around the corner.
When a fire was reported, a call went to the telephone office, and the operator would activate the siren. She would have a continuous three–ring on each party line to alert people to a fire. Extra power was needed to keep up the constant ring.
Harold (Cap) Bragg remembered, as a boy, turning a hand generator to get enough power for this alarm. When the dial system came to Cumberland in 1952, the Red Network was established, replacing the telephone operator. Several phones, with a specifically designated set up by which one could not dial out, were installed in firemen’s homes. It was the task of the fireman’s wife to respond and notify the firemen of the location.
Until 1970, there was no organized way associated with the Fire Department for supplying provisions to the crews battling a large emergency situation. Before the creation of the Ladies’ Auxiliary for an event such as that, phone calls would be made, and before long people would arrive at the station with helping hands, bringing or making sandwiches, drinks, and cookies. Food and drinks would thus be sent to the emergency scene. This division was established under the direction of Chief Maurice Small and Captain Marshall Wagner, who became the link with the wives and daughters of the firefighters in order to create a more formal and organized group.
Guidelines and by-laws were established, and the Ladies’ Auxiliary materialized. The Log Cabin Store on Blanchard Road agreed to be the contact for a member of the auxiliary to contact them and collect foodstuffs to put together at the station. Monthly meetings were arranged and Hope Foster was elected the first President. This group disbanded in the mid-1990s.
Red Network and Ladies' Auxiliary
