This month a piece of local firefighting history was installed in the Snoqualmie Fire Station lobby: a late 19th century hose cart used to battle fires in the Snoqualmie Valley in the early 1900s.
This original Snoqualmie firefighting hose cart is believed to have been put into service around 1889 when the towns of Snoqualmie and North Bend cooperated for fire protection. According to local historians, the cart was Snoqualmie’s hose reel.
Hand and/or horse-drawn firefighting hose carts were first put into service in the late 1800s as public and other firefighting water supplies were introduced across the country. Two firefighters or a horse would pull these important firefighting tools to fire scenes. Firefighters would then lay out the hose and connect it to the water supply. A box on the cart’s front was used to carry tools required to connect to a water supply and to nozzles used to direct water onto the fire.
Community members can stop by the Snoqualmie Fire Station lobby, 37600 SE Snoqualmie Parkway, to view the historic hose cart. Lobby hours are Tuesday – Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.