By 1942, the United States was embroiled in World War II, fighting the Germans in the European theatre and the Japanese in the Pacific. The lives of every American were affected, whether it was soldiers going off to war, rationing, or millions of women suddenly joining the workforce, everyone contributed to the war effort.

1942 would bring major changes to the Little Falls Fire Department. In March, the two-platoon system went into effect. This was not a voluntary move by the city, it was mandated by a state law that stated career fire departments into at least two platoons with a 24-hour day off after each 24-hour shift worked. It also provided for an extra shift off for each firefighter once every 14 days.

Before this law, the career firefighters of Little Falls received one day off every six days. Like most municipalities, the City of Little Falls government was extremely opposed to this law. To comply, the city would have to hire more firefighters, and some on the Common Council felt they could not afford to do so. Nonetheless, Stephen Talaba, Jr. and George Miller were hired as full-time firefighters in the Little Falls Fire Department.

These two men were needed to not only be in compliance with the law but to replace Emert Bucklin, who had left to take a job at the Rome Air Depot. Longtime callman and temporary firefighter Berton McGowan was hired, but he left after only a few months to join the U.S. Army.

The hiring of the new firefighters meant temporary firefighters Charles Van Slyke and Sidney Rogers were laid (Van Slyke stayed on as a call firefighter), Abram Swartz was promoted to Assistant Chief on March 1, 1942, to help lead the newly expanded department.

The city government could do nothing but comply with the two-platoon law, but they were able to keep their chief in charge of the fire department. In 1942, Chief Cooney reached the age of 70 and was eligible to retire. In fact, to work past the age of 70, Chief Cooney needed an annual exemption from the New York State Civil Service Commission. The Chief was not ready to retire at this time, and although he was not as active at fires (he was 70 after all) he was invaluable in the administration of the department. Mayor Richard Conley gladly submitted the application for exemption to the state on behalf of Chief Cooney, and it was granted every year until his retirement.

A New Engine

Among all of the changes being made in 1942, the Little Falls Fire Department also took a major step toward upgrading its apparatus. For 10 years, Chief Cooney had been asking the city to purchase a new fire engine with a pump. On March 27, 1942, that request finally became a reality, as a brand new triple combination type 505 Mack fire engine with a 500 GPM pump and 150-gallon water tank was put into service.

It cost $6,150.00 (approximately $120,000 today), but with this new engine, Little Falls was no longer completely vulnerable to a drop in municipal water pressure. The new Mack also greatly increased the department’s ability to fight rural fires. The 1942 Mack would remain in service until the 1980s.

Another Deadly Fire

On the night of March 12, 1943, an inferno ripped through the third floor of the Murray Hotel and killed five men. It would mark the highest loss of life in Little Falls history to that date.

The Murray Hotel was a three-story structure that stood at 87 West Main Street (approximately across from the present-day Polish Club). At around 11:00 p.m., Ted Murray, the grandson of the owner of the hotel, was woken up in his room on the second floor by the sound of loud crackling noises. Tracking the noises to a stairwell leading to the third floor, he could proceed no further – as a raging fire was in progress.

The younger Murray called out to his grandfather, who tried in vain to put the fire out with a pail of water. A telephone call was made to the fire station, and alarm box six was pulled as well. When they arrived, the Little Falls firefighters found smoke pouring out of the third floor and two men in windows of the same floor screaming for help.

Ladders were immediately raised, and Assistant CHief Swartz, along with firefighter Ira Rogers, brought the two men down to safety. The LFFD went right to work battling the flames. Hose lines were run to each of the two stairwells that led to the third floor. Two lines were used in the back of the building where the fire had broken through the exterior wall of the third floor. In under 45 minutes, the flames were out and the firefighters felt they had done a good job of keeping the fire contained to the third floor (which they did).

When they went in for overhaul and to check for hot spots, the firefighter’s mood would turn grim. Instead of hot spots, they found two dead bodies in the hallway, two in beds, and one kneeling next to a bed in a position of prayer. All of the bodies were badly burned, it would take an extra day to identify one of them.

The fire department was assisted that night by the “auxiliary firemen,” led by former longtime call firefighter Lorenzo Fox as well as the Reverend Howard Kennedy. They were actually civil defense volunteers who were organized during wartime to assist with emergencies.

Little Falls Mayor Richard Conley conducted his own investigation into the fire. After questioning Chief Cooney, Clarence Smith, and others, Conley concluded all involved in the operation that night operated as quickly and effectively as possible.