The sleeping quarters for the firemen over the engine room at the city hall are being remodeled so that twice as many of the fire boys may sleep there at night as can now be accommodated. A partition is being built, and when finished the two sleeping rooms will accommodate eight bunks instead of the four there at present.
    With the additional fire fighting force close at hand there is little chance of a conflagration making much headway.
Medford Mail Tribune, June 4, 1911, page B2

    At a stormy meeting held Monday evening the fire department agreed to disband and turn the charter back to the secretary of state unless the wages asked were granted by the city council. The scale demanded calls for $100 per month for chief, $85 for assistant chief and driver and $75 apiece for three men, or $495 total.
    The council has offered $85 for the chief, $75 for assistant chief and four men at $65, or a total of $420 per month.
    The distance between Medford and a fire department at present then is $75 a month. If this is not bridged tonight there will be no fire department unless the mayor is in a position to form a new one.
    The position of the council is that no provision has been made for raising money for a paid fire department, and the city finances are in such a condition that the city cannot afford to pay more than the schedule determined upon.
Medford Mail Tribune, March 19, 1912, page 4

    The Tower of Babel had nothing on the scene at the city hall Tuesday night following the adjournment of the city council without taking any action in regard to the increase in wages sought by the firemen under the new ordinance passed two weeks ago authorizing a paid fire department. Citizens, firemen and councilmen paired off and went at it in a hammer and tongs fashion. Once or twice it looked like a free-for-all, but finally everything cooled down awaiting the result of a conference today.
    The city hall was jammed with firemen last evening. Patiently they waited until such time as the council would take up the proposed salaries which are urged to replace those provided for in the ordinance and said by the fire boys to be too low. Finally Mayor Canon mentioned that a motion to adjourn was in order. Thereupon Councilman Millar asked if he understood what the city would be without a fire department Wednesday. Mayor Canon replied no, and stated that no such notice either verbally or in writing had been served upon him. Thereupon the council adjourned.
    Immediately the storm broke. Some of the fire boys were walking out, but Harry Ling, assistant chief, put an end to this talk at once and summoned Chief Amann, saying that the boys would stand by the public. This statement was confirmed later by Chief Amann, who arranged with Mayor Canon for a conference today.
    The trouble lies in the fact that the fire committee of the city council, to which the matter of amending the ordinance was referred, failed to report back to the council one way or the other, and therefore the mayor could not take any action.
    The firemen are firm in their determination to go out unless higher salaries are provided. On the other hand the city officials say that the city cannot pay more. The matter will be fought out soon.
Medford Mail Tribune, March 20, 1912, page 2

        Captain J. W. Lawton has been appointed chief, and Victor Danielson assistant chief of the Milford [sic], Ore. fire department. Chief Eugene Amann resigned because the city council ordered him to sleep in headquarters station, which he would not do. He was a member of the department 24 years and its chief for 12 years. Assistant Chief H. D. Ling was appointed acting chief, but because the council refused to pay him the salary his predecessor received he declined the position and resigned from the department, and Mr. Danielson, driver of the motor wagon, was appointed his successor as assistant chief. The volunteer department disbanded in consequence of Amann's resignation.
Fire and Water Engineering, April 22, 1914, page 245

    Six of Medford's ten churches are firetraps, according to investigations made this morning by Fire Chief Lawton. In these half-dozen houses of worship the doors swing in, contrary to the city ordinance and common sense. In case of fire or panic, the chances of a worshiper escaping are reduced to the same chance that a farmer has of winning in a three-shell game. The doors of our lodge rooms also swing in. Notice will be served to comply with the law.
    Contempt for safety from fire is further shown by the discovery to date of 160 residences where gasoline is stored without protection. Most of the houses have taken steps toward complying with the ordinance, but a few still cling to the pioneer ways of storing inflammable materials.
    Chief Lawton reported that conditions in the business district, where the insurance regulations are rigid, and inspection often, are excellent.

Medford Mail Tribune, July 30, 1917, page 4


    There are indications that several of the city firemen may resign their positions in the department unless the city council at its next meeting raises the pay of firemen from $70 to $80 a month, the same as is paid the policemen of the city. The firemen have been endeavoring for some time to get the raise in pay.
"Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, August 24, 1917, page 2


    Medford is one of the enterprising communities of the state whose progressive and far-seeing citizenship recognizes the economic value of fire prevention and preparedness and are availing themselves of every opportunity to eliminate the element of fire waste and carelessness from their midst.
    Medford's excellent record for the reduction of fire losses, a direct result of a well-defined and executed campaign of fire prevention, is reflected in the reports of the chief of the fire department covering a period of four years which speak for themselves. In 1914 the fire loss amounted to $20,673.50; in 1915 it was $8,550; in 1916, $4,159.75, and last year, 1917, it was $6,751. Remarkable, isn't it, when the aggregate loss for the last three years does not equal the loss for the single year of 1914, the close of which marked the inauguration of fire prevention activities.
    Credit for this splendid record is directly due to Chief J. W. Lawton, of the Medford fire department, who ranks among the highest of the fire chiefs of the state in fire fighting and prevention efficiency. Fire Chief Lawton or any other man, no matter what his abilities or ambitions, however, could not have achieved what has been accomplished in Medford did he not surround himself with a competent force of fire fighters and were he not blessed with the confidence and wholehearted cooperation and support of the citizenship behind him, who had confidence in his judgment and abilities to the extent of providing him with modern and first-class fire fighting apparatus and equipment.
    Chief Lawton of the Medford fire department is a "born" fire fighter. He not only possesses the judgment and good generalship to handle a fire and conquer it when the occasion arises, but he is of that exceedingly rare type of man who fully appreciates the true value of that old axiom, "an ounce of prevention, etc." and acts upon the knowledge, gained by sound deduction and experience, that a dollar expended for preparedness and precaution saves thousands in waste as a result of indifference and carelessness.
    Following is Chief Lawton's statement of the personnel and property of the department:
Mr. Harvey Wells,
    State Fire Marshal,
        Salem, Oregon.
My Dear Sir:
    We have six paid men and eight call men, including the chief, assistant chief and foreman of the call men. The call men are city employees in the street and water department and answer only second calls, with the exception of the foreman of the call men, who always reports at the fire hall on the first call and remains at the hall until the men return from the fire.
    We have only one station, which is centrally located at the corner of Sixth and Front streets.
    Our apparatus and equipment consists of one Pope-Hartford 70-horsepower motor truck, combination hose chemical and ladders. On this truck we carry 1,260 feet of 2½-inch patrol wax- and gum-treated hose, 60 gallons chemical and 200 feet of ¾-inch chemical hose, one 45-foot extension ladder, one 20-foot extension ladder, one 16-foot roof ladder with folding hooks, four Larkin shutoff nozzles, three long and one short pipes, nozzles: 1 inch, 1⅛ and 1¼ inches. One cellar nozzle, one Peerless hose clamp, two 3-gallon Babcock extinguishers, six helmets, six coats, two Garnet smoke filters, three fire axes, one crowbar, one Detroit door opener, three electric lanterns, two oil lanterns, one electric searchlight, 300 feet of rope, one 9-foot metal folding fire shield, one sledgehammer, one pair electric wire cutters, two plaster hooks.
    One Chalmers 40-horsepower combination hose and ladder trunk, carrying 1,000 feet 2½-inch hose and one 30-foot extension ladder, two 3-gallon extinguishers, two axes, three shutoff nozzles, one crowbar, two pulldown hooks, two oil lanterns, one electric searchlight, six rubber coats and hats, one turret nozzle for three lines of hose and one Siamese--two streams in one.
    One Oldsmobile 40-horsepower chemical truck, with two 35-gallon tanks, 200 feet ¾-inch chemical hose, two 3-gallon chemical extinguishers, one 20-foot extension ladder with folding hooks, 25 feet of 2½-inch hose, one ax, one crowbar, one electric searchlight, two oil lanterns, one electric horn and one rotary gong.
    One chief's car with Pyrene extinguisher and two 2½-gallon chemical extinguishers, one 14-inch brass gong, one electric searchlight, one ax and one crowbar.
    Two 40-gallon chemical carts with 100 feet 1-inch chemical hose each. One hose cart, capacity 500 feet of 2½-inch hose. One 46-foot extension ladder on cart with 14-foot roof ladder, 800 feet of 2½-inch hose folded in rack on rollers ready to roll into truck bed. One thousand feet 2½-inch hose in reserve in hose tower. One 1,500-pound bell, one siren air whistle, one motor, one air pump. Fire alarm system, telephones. Three fire alarm boxes in business district. Machine shop in rear end of fire department. All city cars are kept in repair by fire department. Quarterly fire prevention inspections in business district, semiannual inspections in residence district.
Fire Marshal's Bulletin, Salem, April 1918, pages 1-2


    Westerman Whillock, Western Union messenger boy, unwittingly gave the city a scare last night, and caused the fire department to run right out, waltz around the corner of Main and Front streets, and run right back again. It all took place in a few seconds, but the blowing of the siren whistle, and never did it blow louder, caused people to hurry downtown from all directions to see the fire.

    The lad had a message to deliver to the night police. Not finding an officer about, he opened the fire and police alarm box in front of the Commercial Club building, intending to flash on the red light. Instead he pulled the wrong lever down, which summoned the fire department. Then the excitement began.
Medford Mail Tribune, October 15, 1918, page 6


    When the firemen arrived and broke in the front door the entire storeroom seemed to burst into flames. There are only five firemen, one of whom has a crippled foot and two others of whom are new and inexperienced fire fighters. After they had worked on the fire about fifteen minutes without making any headway, Chief Lawton, fearing that the flames would communicate to the M&M Department Store next door, turned in a second alarm to summon the designated volunteer firemen, but it seems that the latter were all out of the city. The heat from the flames and the resulting smoke and steam made the work of the firemen a difficult task.
"Fire Damages Clothing Store, Guts Building," Medford Mail Tribune, September 9, 1918, page 6


    MEDFORD, Or., July 17.--Jacksonville, county seat and oldest settlement in southern Oregon, was saved from destruction by fire yesterday by prompt action of the Medford fire department. Four houses and one barn were destroyed and a dozen other houses badly scorched.
    The Jacksonville fire department, with an antiquated equipment, was helpless when the fire hose burst in a dozen places. A call for help sent to Medford, six miles away, brought Fire Chief Lawton on the scene with the motor hose cart, and in a short time the danger was over. The loss is estimated at $10,000. The blaze started from a grass fire.
Morning Oregonian, Portland, July 18, 1919, page 8


    Inadequate pressure in the Medford water system is handicapping the efforts of the fire department of that city in extinguishing a fire that broke out in the Barnum Apartments of Medford, according to word received here this afternoon. It is said that the apartment house, the finest of its kind in Medford, is doomed to complete destruction. Firemen, unable to play an adequate stream of water on the blazing structure, were waging an uneven battle at a late hour this afternoon.
Ashland Weekly Tidings, October 5, 1921, page 1


Medford Mail Tribune, February 23, 1922, page 2


Medford Mail Tribune, February 24, 1922, page 5


Medford Mail Tribune, July 7, 1922, page 3


    Mayor Gates has received the following letter regarding fire conditions from F. H. Cowles and the matter will probably be considered at the council meeting tomorrow night:
"Hon. C. E. Gates,
"Medford, Oregon.
"Dear Mr. Mayor:
    "My attention has been directed to a condition of affairs in this city that appears to invite your immediate attention, which I solicit.
    "Some time ago an ordinance was passed by the city of Medford giving the chief of the fire department certain powers, among which was that of ordering conditions corrected which were dangerous to the safety of the town and its people. This ordinance provided for an appeal by the owner of the property--this appeal to be made to the mayor who, as provided by this law, is obliged to render a decision in writing, either for or against the appellant. The ordinance also provides fines for each day after the violation has been ordered corrected by the mayor. There is nothing in the ordinance that provides for either the city council or fire committee to take any action in the matter whatever, the entire authority being vested in the chief of the department and in the event of an appeal being made it is transferred to the head of the administration, where it belongs.
    "The position of the chief of the fire department of Medford is not protected by civil service regulations and it would be possible for those who are offended at the action of a chief to exercise political pull perhaps, and accomplish his removal, in which case the blow would be received by the community and not the individual, because the department of public safety is no department for politics. This is not intended to imply that this could be accomplished under your administration.
    "Chief Lawton has complained that in the case of one building that was destroyed in this city, the owner laughed in his face and stated that he would go over the chief's head and get the permission of the council to rebuild. The building is a frame building, and one intention of the ordinance was to eliminate as rapidly as possible frame dwellings within the congested fire district and prevent their being rebuilt if they were damaged beyond a certain percentage. Notwithstanding which, the man referred to was allowed to rebuild, through unlawful action of the city council and certain members of the fire committee. He is enjoying a privilege which is illegal and he is subject to a fine for so doing, but he has not been fined or punished nor prevented from having his own sweet will.
    "In addition to this the laundry on the Pacific Highway north of Main Street has been discharging for some time offensive smoke accompanied by large quantities of partially consumed sawdust in the form of soot. I am informed that on one occasion this was the cause of a fire. It is an unmitigated nuisance and is being deposited on the property of adjacent business men who have complained to your honor and the council, and the condition remains uncorrected, although I am informed that the owner has promised to do everything possible to find a remedy. It appears that a stated time limit for correction should be given and that this condition should not be permitted to maintain indefinitely. There are half a dozen witnesses who are prepared to testify to the facts in the case. Unless action is taken by the city authorities it may be necessary to make a complaint to the state fire marshal and this will be a matter of regret, because this community should be able to manage its own affairs without an appeal to the state authorities.
    "I understand that another manufacturing concern operating in the north end of the town is discharging from its stacks sparks of a dangerous nature, having been the cause of two or three fires during the summer.
    "The large number of frame dwellings and frame buildings, packing houses, store houses, etc., in the center of the city of Medford constitute a serious fire hazard, and with the dry summers prevalent in this valley, and with the prevailing winds that occur, it would be more than a possibility for a conflagration to result and in this event a serious loss would be felt by the entire community with a possible loss of life.
    "May I suggest that it would be a good plan to communicate with the governor and propose that some definition be given by the attorney general as to what a fire escape is as there are several buildings in this city that are provided with fire escapes, so called, terminating at the second story, and where it would be impossible for the occupants of the building to reach the street without the assistance of ladders from the fire department or other sources. The fire department might be delayed by a freight train at the crossing, there might be delay in sending in an alarm, or other causes of delay, and meanwhile the people would be endangered and probably life sacrificed unnecessarily.
    "It is customary in all civilized communities to consider these things in relation to public welfare and it is a practice in most of the cities to provide ladders on fire escapes by which people using fire escapes can descend to within at least six or eight feet of the ground. The argument that such ladders might afford a means of entrance for thieves or night prowlers is no argument at all, because the absence of a ladder would never prevent a person of this kind from entering and further such a fear is no possible protection for people who are trying to get out in time of peril.
    "I should like to direct attention to the condition of the packing houses near the railroad tracks where surrounding the packing boxes may be found dry grass and rubbish.
    "The chief of the fire department appears to be doing his best against considerable odds to maintain safe conditions in this city, and I take the liberty of thinking that he should be supported and not hampered by obstructive tactics of the city council and members of the fire committee, some of whom might do well to consult the city ordinances and ask themselves if they would be proud to hold up their heads and look this community in the face if, as a result of their unlawful and irresponsible act, a conflagration should ensue and loss of life result therefrom.
    "I have the honor to remain,
Medford Mail Tribune, September 4, 1922, page 3


   Probably when the next alarm of fire is turned in the natives along the streets will take to the woods in terror and the autoists, who make it a practice to either follow the fire apparatus closely, or run along with, it, despite the city ordinance and pleas of the firemen to get out of the way, will frantically start their cars to climbing poles.
    All this because the fire truck has just been equipped with the most outlandish, piercing fire siren whistle ever heard in this vicinity, which is kept blowing all the time the truck is on the run.  When Fire Chief Lawton was in attendance at the recent California state and international firemen's conventions at San Francisco, the manufacturer had the patent truck siren whistle on exhibition there, and he persuaded the chief to give the whistle a tryout here.
    It was blown in the engine house last evening for the benefit of the city councilmen gathered there, and scared some of the city fathers so badly that it will be some time before the council is able to vote $35 with which to pay for the siren.
Medford Mail Tribune, September 8, 1922, page 8


    The curfew bell will ring out tonight with the new fire department in charge, as no longer will D. T. Lawton pull the rope and as usual at every pull and every clang of the gong use the Methodist Episcopal expression for "doggonit." Other loving hands will ring the signal for kids to scamper off the streets for home.
    The change in personnel of the fire department, ordered by Mayor Gaddis and the city council last Friday night, to take effect March 1st, because they regard the present incumbents as too old, by mutual agreement between the outgoing and incoming firemen, will take place at 6 p.m. today, instead of waiting until midnight tonight.  The outgoing firemen removed all their personal effects from the department today, and tonight their beds will be occupied by the new  firemen under Roy Elliott, the new chief.
    There will be no formal ceremony marking the change, but the retiring firemen will no doubt leave the building, which has practically been their home for many years, with feelings of regret. This will especially be so in the case of Chief D. T. Lawton, who has been a member of the department for 12 years past. All the former fire fighters will depart into private life with the best wishes of their many friends, and the new ones will assume charge with well wishes from the public.
    The members of the outgoing department at Chief J. W. Lawton, D. T. Lawton, Frank Parker, Taylor Burch and Tom Roseberry. The new firemen are Chief Roy Elliott, 324 years old; Chas. Boussum, 34 years old, and a former member of the department; Chester Ellis, 26 years old; Taylor Burch, 53, and one other man yet to be named. Tom Roseberry will be retained temporarily until relieved by the new man, to take care of the mechanical apparatus of the department.
    Up to 3 o'clock this afternoon the last fire call was received in over a week and the outgoing men were hoping that they had made their last run to a fire until relieved from permanent duty at 6 p.m.
    After that hour they hoped to throw away their crutches, canes and false teeth and walk the streets henceforth energetically cussing the taxes and acting otherwise like normal citizens.
    Their exact plans for future occupation are not ready for announcement, except in the case of Chief Lawton who always has been a great horse lover and expects to acquire very soon a ranch on which he will raise and develop horses for the market. D. T. Lawton has planned to make an immediate auto trip with his wife to visit their daughter and family in the northern part of the state, but gave it up on learning that the flu was so prevalent there. Mr. Lawton is considering a good offer from Klamath County which would necessitate his removal to that locality.
Medford Mail Tribune, February 28, 1923, page 8


    . . . Chicago is not the only place where 60 years is marked as the limit for active fire service. Here is a case where an entire fire department has been dismissed as too old.
    Mayor Gaddis, of Medford, Oregon, with the council unanimously approving, made on Feb. 27 a clean sweep of the local fire department to go out of office March 1 because the members are too old. No formal charges were filed.
    Chief J. W. Lawton, 67 years old, has been a member of the department for the last twelve years, and the past nine years as chief.
    The other members are: D. T. Lawton, 70 years old, brother of the chief; F. N. Parker, 53: James Roseberry, 50, and Taylor Burch, 53.
    The mayor appointed Roy Elliott, 35, formerly of the department, as chief, to select his own men with approval of the council.
"Dismissed Elderly Firemen," Fire Service, March 24, 1923, page 8