Tuesday marked the 170th anniversary of a massive fire in Windsor and the start of a strong relationship between Windsor and Detroit firefighters.
A ceremonial picture was taken Tuesday by members of the Windsor and Detroit Fire Departments — on the International boundry lines on the Ambassador Bridge and inside the Detroit - Windsor tunnel — to commemorate that relationship.
It was a recreation of a ceremony held after the massive fire in 1849 — where Windsorites presented the Detroit Fire Department with a decorated "speaking trumpet" — used by fire chiefs during that time to give commands so they could be heard over a roaring fire.
It was Windsor's way of saying thank you to Detroit firefighters who raced across the river to help battle the fire.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens (fifth from left) joined by members of Windsor and Detroit fire services in the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel, April 17, 2019. (Photo courtesy of CTV Windsor)
Shortly after 1 a.m. on a bitterly cold April 16, 1849, the huge brick Dougall warehouse on Riverside Dr. E. at Ferry St. — where the St. Clair College Centre for the Arts and Chrysler Theatre now stands — was a seething mass of flames. Whipped by a strong northwest wind, the flames leaped across Ferry St. and enveloped building after building.
Detroit’s Engine 5, a hand pumper, two hose carts and the men of Engine Companies 4 and 5 were loaded aboard a ferry and after what was recorded as an “extremely rough voyage” arrived at the Windsor village wharf. Within five minutes, the Detroit firemen had hose streams playing on the fire.
Detroit Fire Chief Robert Distlerath says they would do the same thing today, if needed.
"As a life-long Detroiter I've always considered Windsor to be an extension of my community." says Distlerath.
Fred Leblanc is the 13th District Vice President of the International Association of Fire Fighters. Leblanc says every fire fighter he has met would not hesitate to help in a similar situation.
"It doesn't matter where you are, across North America and really across the world, a fire fighter is a fire fighter is a fire fighter and we call it a large family brotherhood sisterhood."
Windsor Fire Chief Steve Laforet also says that if needed they would cross the border to help Detroit, as they have done in the past.
"In the 60's Windsor went over and helped Detroit," notes Laforet, referring to the Windsor fire fighters who helped battle flames during the Detroit riots in the 1967. "Because we share a border, we rely on one another when we do have an incident whether it's an accident or we have a fire on the border."
A similar picture between the two fire deparrments was also staged during a ceremony on the Ambassador Bridge International Boundary Line in 1969.