PRESS RELEASE
The city of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin issued the following report Dec. 13:
The greatest tragedy to befall the Fort Atkinson Fire Department occurred 100 years ago on Dec. 17, 1923. While responding to a call for help the city’s new 1923 American LaFrance fire truck and personnel were involved in a crash killing three firefighters and injuring three more.
The Fort Atkinson Fire Department will honor the fallen firefighters at the Highway 12 crash site at 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14. Members will set-up a tribute memorial that will be on display for the following three nights in their honor. On Sunday, Dec. 17, the 100th anniversary of the crash, the fire department will display the American Flag from the aerial truck at the Fort Atkinson Fire Department, 124 Milwaukee Ave. W. The flag will be on display throughout the day. The department will also honor the fallen by laying a flower spray at the black marble Firefighter Memorial at Bicentennial Park.
The Fort Atkinson Fire Department responded to a call for help from Rockdale in the late afternoon on Dec. 17, 1923. At approximately 3:43 p.m. on the way to the call the American LaFrance fire truck crashed into a cement culvert on the road to Cambridge, now Highway 12, about three and a third miles outside the city. The Jefferson County Union reported, “The crash came when Mr. Gross driving the truck at an excessive rate of speed, lost control of the machine when the rear end began to swerve as he rounded a slight curve to the left in the road. Marks in the road show the right wheels of the pumper left the concrete about 450 feet from the spot where the accident happened.”
The article also reports the machine headed for the opposite side of the road where it struck the left end wall of a culvert and plunged down a five-foot embankment, struck a stump and was hurled end over end for about 40 feet.
Three firemen were killed and three more were injured in the crash. Frank Hoffman, 42; Herman Smith, 59 and William Gross, 54; were killed. Adolf Uherr, Anthony Statz and Louis Reich were all severely injured in the crash but survived.
All of the men, apart from Uherr, were thrown from the vehicle. Mrs. Oscar Wisch witnessed the crash from her front pouch and said the men were thrown high in the air. Spencer Ward was the first person to reach the spot where the unconscious men were in the field. The men were taken by various cars to the Fort Atkinson General Hospital.
Smith was the first to die on Dec. 17, 1923 at 8:15 p.m. followed by Frank Hoffman at 9:15 p.m. Both men died at the General Hospital. According to his obituary, William Gross died Dec. 20, 1923.
The day after the crash, Mayor Weld ordered an official notice posted on a bulletin board placed at the City Hall which gave the condition of th four living, injured men. This bulletin was changed every few hours and was watched with great interest by the crowds gathered at the City Hall during the entire day.
The newspaper stated, “All Fort Atkinson is grief stricken as a result of the terrible tragedy. Each man who rode the ill-fated truck did so because of his love of duty to the Fort Atkinson Fire Department, as well as his desire to help in time of need.”
Smith was born Sept. 11, 1864 in Rome, Wisconsin. He married Wilhelmina Augusta Seavert and the couple had three children Clifford, Pearl and Cecil. He lived in Fort Atkinson 40 years and was an expert blacksmith in the city, who was known as a highly respected citizen and businessman. He was connected to the fire department for 40 years.
Hoffman was born in Fort Atkinson Sept. 20, 1881. He attended the Fort Atkinson High School and for 20 years worked for the Zeugner Hoffman Lumber Co., eventually the Hoffman Lumber Co. He was secretary and treasurer of the firm at the time of his death. He was married to Clara Barney and had one daughter Geraldine. He was a firefighter for 18 years.
Gross was born August 8, 1869 in Richmond, Minnesota. He was married to Sarah Jane Holden and the couple had four children. Ethel, William, Marshall and Ilo. Gross worked for a number of years at the Northwestern and Creamery Package factories and for the six months before his death was employed by the city as a fire truck driver.
The damaged fire truck was brought back to the city the day after the crash and it was determined that compensation insurance would be paid to the firefighters, but no insurance would be collected for the truck.
The Fort Atkinson City Council met Feb. 8, 1924 to discuss the possibility of fixing the American LaFrance fire truck. The City Council approved the proposal to send the truck back to the factory in Elmira, New York. On March 7, 1924 the Daily Union reported the truck would be shipped in the next month and driven from Chicago to Fort Atkinson. After the truck was fixed it was first used to fight a barn fire caused by spontaneous combustion in the hay on Walton St. on Sept. 21, 1924.
The 1923 fire truck was in service in the city of Fort Atkinson until sometime in the 1950s when the city purchased a 1956 American LaFrance. It’s unclear when exactly the city disposed of the truck. At the time the City Council heard the recommendation of Fire Chief Pearson Gebhardt to strip the valuable items off the truck and place it in one of the city’s parks as a playground attraction. The council was not in favor of the suggestion and voted to keep the truck in service to render pumper service in case of a bad fire.
The information presented above was gathered by Michael Reel and James Slocum. Reel is a retired Fort Atkinson Fire Chief, still serving as Chief Engineer, responsible for fire apparatus repairs, specifications and training of all drivers/engineers for the apparatus. Slocum is a 33-year, current paid-on-call veteran of the Fort Atkinson Fire Department and engineer of all current day fire apparatus, as well as assisting with the driver training programs at the department. Reel and Slocum gathered information with help from the Hoard Historical Museum and the Dwight Foster Public Library.
