10/7/2012:
In the early years of settlement, building materials were scarce, so much of the initial construction was done with wood, which was easily transported by rail. Fires were of a great concern and often wiped out huge parts of communities. On this date in 1880, word had come to Fargo that the Glyndon Hotel in nearby Glyndon, Minnesota had been burned intentionally.
With a firebug active in the area, the young men in the first ward of the City of Fargo were organizing an independent hose company. Of the eighteen men assembled, almost half were former firemen and all had business interests in the area. Fires were deadly amid the clapboard stores and homes, and they intended to be ready.
Dakota Datebook written by Jim Davis
Source:
The Fargo Daily Argus October 8, 1880