University of Notre Dame Fire Department

University of Notre Dame Fire Department
Established	1879
Staffing	Career
Strength	17 full time 30 part time
Stations	1
Engines	2
Rescues	1
EMS Level	BLS
Fire chief	William Farhat

The University of Notre Dame Fire Department (NDFD) was established in the aftermath of the devastating fire of April 23, 1879, during which the University’s Main Building and several nearby structures were destroyed. While there was no loss of life from this fire, it took three weeks for the ruins to stop smoldering and the extreme damage required a massive reconstruction effort the following summer in order to save the institution. The fire of 1879 and a later fire that heavily damaged St. Edwards Hall in 1980 both had a significant influence on the formation and evolution of NDFD.

As early as 1846, Notre Dame had acquired a “fire engine” of sorts, which was stored under a shed near the campus’ dog kennel and various Congregation of Holy Cross Brothers were given assignments as part of the “fire company.” It is highly doubtful that this fire engine would bear any resemblance to anything we would consider as a fire engine today. It was most likely a pumping mechanism for a firefighting water supply from the nearby lakes. At the time, a fire company member’s main duties were to procure buckets, axes and other tools to combat the fire.^[1]

In 1871, a campus “fire brigade” was established and a 60-US-gallon (230 L) Babcock chemical cart was purchased for the campus. The fire brigade practiced on Sundays but it was still quite rudimentary in nature and by 1879 the firefighting capabilities of the campus and the surrounding area remained quite limited. During the fire of 1879, the overwhelmed campus fire brigade looked to the volunteer fire department for the nearby village of South Bend for help, but by the time the horse drawn steamer engine arrived on campus 45 minutes later, the Main Building was already destroyed.^[1]

Later that year, Father John Zahm and Father Andrew Morrissey, priests who both loomed large in the early history of Notre Dame, proposed that a fire department be established on campus. On November 21, 1879, the local Provincial Council of the Congregation of Holy Cross decreed that, “the organization of a fire department under Father Zahm should be immediately formed.” It was later written that it took only 12 hours for Father Zahm to organize two (later three) hand drawn hose companies for the new Notre Dame Fire Department. One company was located behind Sorin Hall, a second was positioned behind the Main Building and the third was housed in the Holy Cross Gymnasium.

The NDFD of 1879 had a chief, assistant chief and a fire marshal, who were all brothers and/or students. Each of the hose companies had a captain, a lieutenant and 13 firefighters assigned to them. Their equipment consisted of the Babcock chemical engine, hand pulled hose carts and hand tools. The hose companies trained once a week and a friendly rivalry between them was encouraged to promote firefighting efficiency along with an annual competition each spring.

In 1896, a central firehouse was built in a field about 300 feet (91 m) northeast of the Main Building (immediately south of the present day St. Liam’s Hall).^[2] It boasted two bays to hold the hose carts and a hose tower was later added to dry hose. By 1900, the Notre Dame Scholastic noted that the University had the “best fire protection in America,” and “could deliver over 2000 gallons of water per minute within 5 minutes of the alarm.”^[3]

Brother Borromeo Malley became Fire Chief in 1939, a position he held for a record 50 years. The NDFD he inherited had not been modernized and was suffering from neglect. It was during Brother Borromeo’s tenure that NDFD assembled its first motorized fire truck (a 55’ ladder truck built by the brothers and staff in 1940) before the University purchased an engine and constructed the current firehouse in 1945. Eight brothers, all of whom held various other positions throughout the University, lived in the firehouse and served as the firefighters during emergencies. The brothers were later supplemented by daytime volunteers from the Notre Dame Powerplant staff as well as several live in students that were added in the early 1970s as the department sought to meet the needs of the growing University.

After a large fire heavily damaged Saint Edward’s Hall in 1980, it was evident that relying solely on the three remaining brothers, students and daytime volunteers to fight fires would not be enough to meet the demands placed on the fire department. Starting in 1981, the first career firefighters were hired and later 24 hour shifts were established. The early shifts consisted of only one career firefighter to augment the brothers and students, but it was the start of the modern era of NDFD. When the last group of student firefighters graduated in 1990, the 24 hour shifts were increased to three career firefighters (which became four per shift in 1996). Brother Francis Gorch was the last firefighting brother when he moved out of the firehouse in 2002 and with that, the era of religious and student firefighters ended. Today, students are employed as emergency medical technicians for intramural sports events and for other administrative duties.

Currently, the Notre Dame Fire Department has 16 full time firefighters and the department responds to over 1300 incidents a year. The chief, assistant chief and two firefighter/alarm technicians are on duty during the weekdays while the three rotating 24 hour shifts each have a captain, a lieutenant and two firefighters. Twenty part time firefighters, drawn from other area fire departments, are utilized for football games and other special event needs as well as filling shift vacancies.

NDFD is truly unique as it is not only the oldest university fire department in the United States; it is also the only career fire department at a private educational institution. NDFD is the primary provider of fire suppression and emergency medical services for the University of Notre Dame, neighboring St. Mary’s College and Holy Cross College and assists in the areas surrounding Notre Dame via mutual and automatic aid agreements with neighboring agencies. NDFD also provides high angle rope, confined space, ice and underwater dive rescue services. NDFD is a member of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) and participates in the MABAS Division 201 Tactical Rescue Team. On Notre Dame’s campus, NDFD also performs building fire safety inspections, automatic sprinkler and fire alarm system testing and maintenance, fire extinguisher inspections, building design review and provides fire safety education for staff and students.

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Hope, Arthur (1943). Notre Dame - One Hundred Years, University of Notre Dame Press
2. ^ Schlereth, Thomas (1976). The University of Notre Dame, A Portrait of its History and Campus, University of Notre Dame Press
3. ^ Notre Dame Scholastic (March 1900)

References

• Hope, Arthur (1943). Notre Dame - One Hundred Years, University of Notre Dame Press.
• Schlereth, Thomas (1976). The University of Notre Dame, A Portrait of its History and Campus, University of Notre Dame Press.
• Notre Dame Scholastic (March 1900)
• "Origins and History of the Notre Dame Fire Department". http://www.nd.edu/~ndfd. Retrieved 2009-04-01. 

External links

• University of Notre Dame Fire Department
• University of Notre Dame