A Board of Fire Commissioners, consisting of the mayor and four elected fire commissioners who served four-year terms, was established by the 1890 Seattle City Charter. The Board created rules and regulations for the Fire Department, enforced penalties for rules violations, and appointed the Fire Chief. The Chief then appointed all subordinate officers of the Department. The Board had the power to terminate the Fire Chief or any subordinate employee.
Further responsibilities of the Board included making reports to the City Council regarding the operations of the Department, including statistics on the number of alarms responded to, fire damages, and the expenses of the Department.
The Board was abolished with passage of a new City Charter in 1896.
Minutes of the Board of Fire Commissioners, 1890-1896, report proceedings of Board meetings. Included are resolutions and policy decisions made by the Board and appointments for such positions as Chief of the Fire Department, Superintendent of Fire Alarms, Chemical Engineer, and fire fighters. Board actions taken in dealing with Fire Department employees, including applications for positions as well as resignations and disciplinary actions, are also discussed. An alphabetical index at the front of the volume lists the names of persons mentioned in the minutes as well as topics of interest.
Records are open to the public.
[Item and date], Board of Fire Commissioners Minutes, Record Series 2800-01. Seattle Municipal Archives.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.