As European settlers moved onto the Great Plains, they built wooden structures for shelter. These were vulnerable to fires, especially as settlers began building communities with wooden buildings close together. Fire, whether from natural causes like lightning or accidents caused by humans, could destroy an entire town in the blink of an eye.
When the railroad extended across Dakota Territory, sparks from locomotives sometimes landed on dry grass and started fires. It was the responsibility of every town resident to quickly respond to a fire alarm, and trains were sometimes prepared to evacuate people if the fire could not be controlled.
North Dakota experienced its share of devastating fires. In 1893, fire left very few buildings standing in Fargo. Grand Forks suffered the same fate in 1898. Bismarck was a victim of fire in 1872, and again in 1899. It’s impossible to estimate how many homes and schoolhouses on the prairie were destroyed by fire.
On this date in 1903, the town of New Salem announced new advancements in firefighting capability. The town purchased new equipment, including a new pump and a one-thousand-foot fire hose. In addition, town funds were used to build a reservoir with a capacity of over a thousand gallons of water. The tank was located in the park at the center of town, and nearly every building could be reached with the new hose.
The fire engine, equipped with the new pump, could throw a stream of water eighty feet. A pump at the tank could add more water even as the reserve was being pumped out. It was estimated that it would take five hours for the water in the tank to be depleted.
There were some skeptics who said the new system was inadequate. The Fargo newspaper was of the opinion that it was “better with nothing.” But the system could be expanded as town funds became available, and additional water tanks could be built as the town grew. The new equipment was approved by fire underwriters and would most likely result in decreased fire insurance costs for the town’s municipal buildings, businesses, and homes.
Dakota Datebook written by Dr. Carole Butcher
Sources:
- Fargo Forum and Daily Republican. “Fire Protection.” Fargo ND. 11/5/2025. Page 6.
- National Park Service. “Fire History of the Great Plains.” https://www.nps.gov/lamr/learn/nature/fire-history-of-the-great-plains.htmAccessed 10/3/2025.
- Bismarck Café. “Bismarck History.” https://www.bismarckcafe.com/blogs/dawn-of-a-new-century-1899-1929#:~:text=The%20Fire%20of%201898%20had%20wiped%20out%20a,brick%20and%20concrete%2C%20even%20labeled%20as%20%E2%80%9Cfire%20proof%E2%80%9D. Accessed 10/3/2025.
