![New fire hall and water tower with well-equipped firefighters ready for service, ca. 1920](https://www.southpeacearchives.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/1997.13.88.jpg)
To mark the Grande Prairie Fire Department’s 100th anniversary celebrations this weekend, I have chosen three fire related items from the newspapers. The first from 1916 describes a destructive fire that swept main street, but was checked by the use of the chemical engines purchased the year before. An article from 1933 describes an incident linked to a fire in the Spencer Block, where dynamite was going to be used to stop the fire from spreading. The third item we have used before in this blog, but I think it’s good enough to repeat – a practical joke which the fire department was privy to. I can’t imagine a stunt like that being allowed today!
Researched & written by Kathryn Auger
![Grande Prairie Herald ~ August 15, 1916](https://www.southpeacearchives.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/GPH-15-August-1916.jpg)
![Northern Tribune ~ September 7, 1933](https://www.southpeacearchives.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/NT-7-September-1933.jpg)
![Grande Prairie Herald ~ February 24, 1928](https://www.southpeacearchives.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/GPH-24-February-1928.jpg)