Old Town Politics: 1914-1924
The early department made tremendous progress under the direction of Edward Louis Richter, a hard working "home town product" who was elected chief in 1914 at the age of 23.
One of the first significant fires to occur during Richter's term broke out on September 15, 1914. A church bell was sounded to summon assistance after Millie Graff accidentally dropped a match in a closet while looking for her night robe. Bucket brigades were formed as wind whipped embers from the Graff home toward adjacent structures. Firefighters and townspeople prevented the fire from spreading to buildings nearby, but could not spare the Graff home from destruction.
Records show that friction between the fire department and the town board began to develop in 1917. This feud culminated when Chief Richter and four firemen held a special meeting, divided up the cash on hand, and disbanded. Richter and his men walked away from the meeting with $7.65 each. Official minutes from the August 29, 1917 meeting read "Died. No Flowers."
Two months later, the department again reorganized under Chief Richter. According to a local newspaper article, "about twenty of the sturdy young men of the village enrolled their names as active fire fighters, while a number of the older heads like Senator Saley, Mayor Richard Russell, J.C. Munal and the editors of the local papers enrolled to give dignity to the organization on state occasions." Provisions for participating in the state volunteer firefighters' pension fund were completed, and the firemen also joined the recently organized Colorado State Firemen's Association. George C. Townsley, Sr. and William T. Olson, Sr. each served as fire chief between 1921 and 1924. Townsley was employed by the Town of Arvada in a number of capacities. Olson operated a successful lumber company that later traded hands and burned to the ground in an incident during 1960 that still remains one of Arvada's most devastating fires.
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