C.A. Phillips R. Cogdell E.B. Jewett Chas. H. Hunter J.W. Fossey P.H. Cleveland M. Roseberry W.A. Sanders D.W. Williams Wm. Secgrist Cecil E. Viney T.W. Kitchen John Davidson G.W. Reeves

J.P. Allen R.R. Wilson Jas. W. Ray L.H. Hobbs P. Smith Thomas Thorpe Chas. W. Viney E.L. Woodman H. Weigand W.D. Russell S.E. Adams George W. Thompson F. Robbins Wm. Dibbs

George Kessler E.A. Karr J.W. Maddux Thomas Botts A.T. Massey W.H. Forney John Shea W.A. King F.M. Wilson Albert S. Sleeper J.B. Roberts Thomas Wickary Frank H. Todd Matt Doney

The officers were elected as follows:

C.A. Phillips, Foreman
Richard Cogdell, First Assistant Foreman
S.E. Adams, Second Assistant Foreman
J.W. Fossey, Orderly
Chas. H. Hunter, Treasurer
E.B. Jewett, Secretary

The company organized under the City Ordinance prevailing at that time, as adopted by Mayor Jas. G. Hope and the City Council.

At the same meeting, the following order was also made, "Upon motion of E.B. Jewett, the secretary was instructed to draw upon the treasury for the amount of $1.50 to buy a book in which to record the minutes of the company's meetings and procure stationary for the use of the company."

On the books of the secretary in the minutes of the meeting of June 21, 1874, appeared the following instructions: "Upon motion of M. Roseberry, it was ordered that the company turn out on July 4 for parade." On July 4, 1874, the Frontier Fire Company did turn out for the parade as per instructions. An observer wrote, "Our gallant firemen brave as lions and loyal to the death were in the parade, dragging their fire wagon with the wheels interlaced with decorative bunting. The people on the sidewalks cheered when they went past and the firemen grinned sheepishly and drug their wagon faster in the hot sun." They had long, curled moustaches and red shirts. They were the brave firefighters who functioned in that day when a fire was a social event and membership in the company went only to the fleet of foot.

It was a hot, dry summer, and then clouds of grasshoppers arrived and ate everything in sight. This tragedy was followed by a severe winter with as little fuel as food. The people prayed for spring to come. Wichita had not lost heart but it was staggering, and with spring just around the corner, the little community which had struggled so bravely was struck by still another disaster - the biggest fire the city ever had. A north wind was blowing on the night of February 17, 1875 and a building on North Main took fire and soon the whole population was fighting it. A keg of powder in a grocery store exploded and spread the fire. The fire apparatus with only rubber buckets and city water pumps was inadequate, and a major loss occurred. Two citizens were injured, Mr. Goodrich by a jump and Mrs. Goodrich from burns. The losses were seventeen buildings either destroyed or badly damaged. It was a sad town which faced March that year, it had battled through eight months of misery. Later, seven more buildings north of the First National Bank of Main Street burned down and another citizen, Mr. F. Stackman, an early pioneer, was badly burned.

Wichita during the 1870's and early 1880's was a community of almost continuous growth and change. Stores changed locations easily as new buildings were erected. In fact, fires caused some of the moves as most of the early buildings were of wood construction and firefighting equipment was far from adequate as evidenced by a fire in The Dollar Store, which was located in the middle of the first block on Main. This fire occurred in 1876, and was another big fire of the day. The volunteers with their Hook and Ladder Bucket Brigade fought the flames to the ground. It didn't take long to burn, but it caused a lot of excitement. Firefighting in those days was sometimes a highly unorganized community spectacle presided over by the Bucket Brigade, and it was obvious that something more than buckets of water would be required.

The fire hazards presented by the growing city in the late 1870's prompted the businessmen to arrange for a central supply of water. By 1881, they had won the City Council over and the next year, 1882, they had arranged with a company capitalized at $100,000 to build the water plant and to construct a standpipe to provide adequate pressure (this plant was located at Riverview and the river). The City Council gave a 40-year franchise to J.S. Jones to provide a municipal water system. The firm's best customer was the City, which agreed to pay $4,000 per year for the use of 60 double discharge fire hydrants. With fire hydrants available, the city could proceed with plans to reorganize its fire department. This was the first step in the direction of the paid department of 1886.

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