The Waterloo Fire Department has a long and distinguished history. No part of that history is more memorable than that of the first half century. The volunteer firemen of long ago had a great sense of pride in their jobs and in the city they protected. These men were greatly appreciated and respected by local residents. Well into the twentieth century older citizens remembered these early firemen rushing to the scene of a fire on foot or in a horse drawn wagon, fighting fires with a bucket of water in one hand and an axe in the other, or struggling with their hand pumps or steam engines to pour water on an out-of-control blaze.