Norman V. Kelly
August ‘Auggie’
Kirchoff lived in Peoria, Illinois way back in 1888, over on Sanford Street. Auggie’s mother died when he was two-years
old, followed by his father when Auggie was almost thirteen. Times were always tough for the young man,
but he often thanked God for his sisters who looked after him. But…throughout it all Auggie had a dream and
that dream was to be a fireman. Most of
his waking hours were spent down at the neighborhood fire station where he ran
errands and listened to the firemen talk of fires they had battled.
Of course being a
young, eager fella, Auggie pestered the chief to allow him to join the
department. Always, he was told that he
was too young, but the young man was never discouraged. He washed the equipment, shined what he was
told to shine, and talked of the days when he too would join his heroes.
Finally just around
Christmas of 1888 August Kirchoff was allowed to join the engine house just
down the block from his home. He had
turned seventeen by then, and the chief was convinced that already Auggie had
learned as much about being a fireman that he possibly could. He lacked experience, of course, but the
chief had no intention of allowing his young friend to get in over his
head. Naturally, when the fire bell
rang, Auggie was like the horses that pulled the fire equipment, ‘Wild and
rarin’ to go.”
It was early that
first winter as a fireman that Auggie came down with some illness that left the
young man weak and almost helpless. He
was under the care of a physician, but in 1888 medicine still had a long way to
go, so all his friends and family could do was hope and pray. It was not until
early April 1888 that the young patient began to perk up and eagerly returned
to his dream of being a fireman.
It was around that
time that the city suffered a rash of mysterious barn fires
that popped up
around the city. At first they were
confined to the lower end of Peoria,
then the downtown area itself. Officials
were pretty certain the fires were the work of an arsonist or maybe a gang of
them. Farmers often slept in their barns
hoping to catch the culprits but the fires only increased in number.
The local
newspapers often referred to the arsonists as “Incendiary Fiends.”
On one Thursday
evening three fires were battled, causing the death of two of Mrs. Kinsella’s
cows. Folks in the city were outraged.
“Only last week she was offered $110.00 for the two,” the paper reported.
The next day the Peoria
Weekly Transcript reported that E.A. Furries had had a raging fire in his barn
resulting in the death of eight of his prized cows. The editor called on the officials of the
city police and fire department to put an end to these atrocities.
AUGGIE BECOMES
AN EXTRA HAND
Actually it was
amidst all this turmoil and fear that August Kirchoff really became a fireman
for the City of Peoria. Auggie went out on most of these fires and
did a very good job. The chief said
publicly “Auggie was a good man when it came to moving quickly.”
April 17, 1888, the
men were recovering from the strenuous activity, by cleaning equipment and
playing checkers. The first call came in
around nine and soon the boys were racing off to a red glow in the sky not far
from their station. Had the incendiary fiend struck again? They pulled up to the City Brewery where the
malt house was fully engulfed in roaring flames. Soon every firehouse in Peoria had been alerted and Hook and Ladder
companies responded in a clang of bells and snorting horses.
Peoria had some modern equipment in the form of
steamer pumps and soon the entire area appeared to be surrounded by every
fireman and piece of equipment the city could muster. The low, dark clouds
reflected with red from the fire that was now threatening the entire block down
there on Water Street.
Flames leaped from the mash building to other buildings and soon threatened the
homes around the brewery. The brave
firemen battled the flames first giving up on one structure then racing to
defend another threatened building. Embers flew every which way as the breeze
off the river turned into almost gale force.
Flames were
everywhere, and choking black smoke threatened to stop the brave firemen in
their tracks. Young Auggie fought
shoulder to shoulder with his comrades over near the malt house surrounded by
acrid smoke.
Without warning the
huge chimney off to the right exploded sending hot steel, bricks and debris
down upon the fire fighters. Screams of warning were too late for the boys of
Central Fire Station, The Holly Hose Company and the men of Hose Number Five.
Among the five severally Injured, young Auggie Kirchoff died of his injuries.
The people of Peoria along with
Auggie’s fellow firefighters mourned the loss of their young brave comrade.
Auggie died doing what he said would be his life’s work. Sadly he was precisely correct.
Editor’s
Note: Norm is the author of eight books
on Peoria’s
bawdy and exciting history.
Next
Month: Norm will bring us another story
lost in Peoria’s
past. norman.kelly@sbcglobal.net
