When one asks people what comes to mind when they think about Colorado, they often mention four things--mountains, snow, thunderstorms, and blue skies. Associated with those qualities, they might include hiking, skiing, fishing, hunting, and Big Horn Sheep. All these elements make Colorado an attractive state in which to live or visit, because the outdoor activities are phenomenal, except when the thunderheads build overhead.
Less often do people who are not Colorado natives mention that we live in a climate that is also semi-arid and subject to high winds due to how the mountains funnel air, accelerating downdrafts on the eastern slopes, called Chinooks. These two climatic conditions have made us vulnerable, even before the advent of climate change, to thunderstrikes, wildfires, and heavy flooding, especially in the forested Colorado mountains. We have an average of twenty-two inches of rain compared to the country's average of thirty-eight inches.
As the gold and silver mining industry grew in the latter half of the nineteenth century, and mining camps sprang up across the Rocky Mountains, such as Georgetown, Central City, Leadville, Silverton, Victor, and others, one thing became clear. Colorado's susceptibility to wildfires needed to be addressed. Mining towns began establishing volunteer fire departments to combat the threat.
Even before Georgetown, Colorado was approved as an official town by legislative authority on February 28, 1868, the need for a fire department and the proper equipment was obvious. A raging forest fire tore down the Leavenworth Fork of Clear Creek, leaving the mountainside blackened. The threat was real.
The fire threat is why, in the second book of my Singing Silver Mine Series Rhythms Of The Heart, when protagonist Cassie Munro asks her mother why more people don't plant foliage around their homes, Laurel responds that it's too hot and dry. "Our streets are so tightly packed with housing
and businesses that a single spark might produce a tremendous fire. It could
completely wipe out the entire town,” her father says.
Georgetown's fire department took the threat seriously. In the years following incorporation, Georgetown established guidelines for safe housing construction and funding for fire equipment. The first piece of equipment was a fire engine with 300 feet of hose and fifty fire buckets. The engine featured a "7 1/4 inch cylinder, operating with fourteen men on the brake. It was guaranteed to throw a stream of water 130 feet," according to The Rise of the Silver Queen author Christine Bradley. The town also tapped into the water supply from two creeks.
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| Fire Engine Pumper, Silver Plume Old School Museum: Donna's Gallery 2019 |
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| Fire Bucket, Old School Museum, Silver Plume: Donna's Gallery 2019 |
However, after the fire started at the town's most elegant hotel, the Barton House, caught fire in 1871, sending embers catching fire on neighboring properties, the townspeople demanded
more and better equipment. A second big fire in January 1873 convinced the folks that they needed to create a formal fire department, and thus the Georgetown Water Company was formed.
By 1874, they had developed an extensive fire protection system. They dammed a reservoir they could tap into on the South Branch of Clear Creek, located above Georgetown. Waterlines ran throughout the town with seven fireplugs located at strategic places. Several companies of firefighters were formed, each with specialty firefighting equipment and firefighting skills.
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| Old Missouri Engine House, Georgetown, CO: Donna's Gallery 2018 |
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| Alpine Hose Company No. 2, Georgetown, Colorado, Compliments of graphix |
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Firehouse with a hand pump. Georgetown, Colorado Hope Hose Company 1875 New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed September 1, 2025. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/010062b0-73bc-0139-6248-0242ac110003 |
Each year, they added waterlines and fire hydrants. By 1877, the
Clear Creek Water Company laid 2,500 feet of main pipes and installed four new
hydrants for a total of 8,900 feet of mains and sixteen hydrants.
Like fraternities, the firefighters enjoyed the camaraderie, improving their skills and boasting about their specialties. Every Fourth of July and on other occasions, they hosted competitions between themselves and other Clear Creek County communities to determine who had the fastest Hook and Ladder runners, the strongest, most durable pumpers, and the bravest souls to scale the heights of buildings.
Since the nineteenth century, when Georgetown strategically put into place policies to keep the town and community safe, Georgetown has never experienced a devastating fire. We can be grateful to the town's forefathers for the wisdom that has allowed citizens and tourists alike today to enjoy one of the most well-preserved Victorian communities intact in Colorado.
Donna was a communications professional before writing full-time. Her short stories and articles have appeared in inspirational publications. She has two indie-published romantic suspense novels, Light Out of Darkness and Undaunted Valor, in her Waldensian Series. Her Gilded Age historical romance, A Song of Deliverance, released in December 2024.
Donna and her husband of forty years participate in ministry at their local church in Colorado. They love spending time with their grandchildren and bike, kayak, and travel whenever possible.
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