Historic Register Tour - Fire Station No. 3

HISTORIC NAME	Fire Station No. 3
COMMON NAME
DATE BUILT	1912, 1917
ARCHITECT/BUILDER
PROPERTY STYLE	Commercial Vernacular
ON THE SPOKANE REGISTER	No
NATIONAL REGISTER	No
IN A DISTRICT	Yes - added 12/9/94
DISTRICT	No
NEIGHBORHOOD	West Central

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

Fire Station #3 is significant for its role in the history of fire protection in the City of Spokane and throughout the American West. The present building is actually a combination of two buildings. The rear, or western, portion of the building was built in 1912, adjacent to a wood frame station erected in 1894, as a service shop for fire fighting vehicles and equipment. The wood frame structure was replaced around 1917 with the brick building that remains today. At a later date, the two buildings were combined into a single structure. This station played a pivotal role in the transition from a horse drawn force to a motorized one. Prior to 1889, Spokane relied on a volunteer fire department, first organized in 1884. A professional force was organized after Spokane learned the hard way about how devastating a fire could be to a city. On August 4, 1889 most of Spokane’s central business district burned to the ground. The Great Fire prompted the city council to pass an ordinance establishing a paid professional force. The original Fire Station #3 was built in that year. Despite its renovation to allow modern business activities, Fire Station #3 retains a high degree of historic integrity.