The Fire Chief’s Tourer – Vancouver 1910

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A dramatic scene on October 30, 1910: Vancouver firefighters climb a long wooden ladder towards the burning G.H. Cottrell Warehouse at 139 Water Street. Below, a tangle of hoses, smoke, mud – and impressive early motor vehicles.

Across the street, in front of the “rooming house” with the sign “Rooms to Let,” a large crowd has gathered. Men in bowler hats, women in straight-brimmed hats, and children in caps watch the spectacle.
In the foreground, an open tourer with tall wire wheels and a divided rear seat – it appears to have a short wheelbase, perhaps the car of the fire chief himself? Behind it, the fire engines resemble early American LaFrance or Knox motorized fire trucks, the type just emerging in North American cities at the time. Clearly visible are the steel ladders, hose reels, and the new idea of combustion-powered fire apparatus – a remarkably modern sight for 1910!

Three years later we see Vancouver in calmer times. The second photo shows His Worship T.S. Baxter, Mayor of the City, proudly posing in front of the Canadian Fairbanks Morse Company building – also on Water Street. His elegant automobile, likely a 1912–13 Packard, exudes prestige and progress.
Who can tell us more about this period, or about these cars?

Photo by Steve Diggins

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