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By Paula Pyzik Scott

You turn on the faucet and the water flows all day, every day. Is there a fire? You call 911 and the Bluffton Fire Department arrives within minutes, armed with high-tech trucks and enormous hydropower.

But once upon a time, Bluffton’s water supply and ability to use it to fight a fire were very different. On Aug. 10, the Bluffton Ohio Historical Society and the Bluffton Fire Department recreated the moment in 1898 when firefighters tested the village’s first water system, shooting two jets of water skyward from fire hydrants at Main and Cherry streets.

It was a spectacle in 1898 – captured in a photograph – and it was a spectacle in 2024. About 250 people attended the demonstration and learned about the history of the Bluffton Fire Department from Fire Chief Jon Kinn and his deputy Nathan Jordan. Both men are third-generation firefighters and spoke of knowing as children that they would become firefighters too.

During the water pressure demonstration, Kinn noted that the village currently has about 1 to 1.5 million gallons of water stored, and that a fire downtown would use “quite a bit” of it. There were two demonstrations: Firefighters drove up in Bluffton’s 1913 Studebaker fire truck and sprayed water from hoses connected directly to the fire hydrants. Next, firefighters drove up in the fire department’s 2017 Rosenbauer Engine 106 and demonstrated the flow and pressure capacity of their pump at 1,500 gallons/minute.

The idea for the event came from Bluffton historian and Icon founder Fred Steiner and was organized by Liz Gordon-Hancock along with other BOHS members as the society’s inaugural event. When the photo recreation was suggested to Kinn, he was very enthusiastic. The society soon realized that it had tapped into an organization that knows its history and carefully documents it.

And when the club talked about holding bucket brigade races, the Northwest Ohio Volunteer Firefighters Association also provided the equipment. Participants of all ages, from elementary school students to seniors, took part. A team from Bluffton Scout Troop 256 won the competition by two seconds and took home pizza gift certificates donated by Kira’s Flipside Grill and the Bluffton Icon.

Also on display were water pumps and early plumbing artifacts. Collector Keith Sommer demonstrated early fire extinguishers and had pieces of wooden pipe and the tools to make the pipes. Dan Groman displayed a double steam pump borrowed from the Cenovus Lima Refinery, like the one used in the city’s water plant in the late 1800s. A coal-fired boiler was required to power the pumps.

Several historic fire trucks were on display. Mayor Richard Johnson awarded rosettes to the entries, including Gregg Miller’s 1931 Ford Model AA of the Columbus Grove West Side Fire Department, Mike Friia’s 1949 American La France (ALF) 700 series that served the Holland, Michigan Fire Department, Dan Groman’s 1954 Chevy Dry Chemical Truck that served the Sohio Refinery, and the Bluffton Fire Department’s 1923 Studebaker, also known as #1 Bluffton.

Following these activities, Jim Enneking, director of the Bluffton Chamber of Commerce, celebrated the official “opening” of the historical society with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the Presbyterian Church gazebo.

The event also included old-time music by the Four Guys and a Gal ensemble, the national anthem sung by Liberty-Benton Middle School student Corinna Coppus, sandwiches and desserts prepared and sold by members of the Bluffton Presbyterian Church, food and beverages from several vendors, and an exhibit for the Bluffton Release Time program celebrating its 100th anniversary.

Bluffton History Day 2024 was a magnet for photographers, including BOHS members Marvin Foster and Mark Yoder. For more photos and videos, see the links below:

Drone footage of Zac Kohli
https://www.facebook.com/zkohli/videos/851976867029651?idorvanity=224837…

Video of a water test by John Estell
https://www.facebook.com/36003760/videos/pcb.1158658325363340/1166121954…

For more information, including membership information in the Bluffton Ohio Historical Society, visit www.blufftonforever.com and the society’s Facebook page.

For more information about the Bluffton Fire Department, visit https://www.bluffton-ohio.com/fire-department.