No 19th century industries were more prone to fire than sawmills. Sparks from wood-fired boilers and overheating from machinery bearings frequently set aflame the dry sawdust and shavings that were piled around the properties.
Fire insurance companies charged very high rates for sawmills, with annual premiums equal to 10% or more of the value of the property. Consequently, most owners operated with little or no insurance, expecting to replace the plant every decade.
One of the biggest sawmill fires in Wellington County occurred in Mount Forest more than 128 years ago, on July 30, 1881. On that Saturday morning, shortly before 6am, a cooper who worked at the barrel shop of Martin & Son’s sawmill arrived at the mill to start the day’s labour. He noticed flames coming from the doors of the main building. He quickly rushed uptown, and sounded the town’s fire bell.
His frantic striking of the fire bell brought out dozens of men, but nothing was visible from the main part of Mount Forest. Many men shrugged and started to return to their homes. But the news quickly spread, person to person: Martin’s sawmill was on fire.
When help arrived on the scene it was too late to save the building. Instead, the volunteers set to work moving the piles of lumber and shingles stacked in the yard, some of it immediately beside the building.
Among the first on the scene were Thomas and Alex Martin, the father-and-son team who owned and operated the sawmill. They were fully aware of the continual fire risk to their business, and reacted immediately whenever they heard the unwanted tolling of the fire bell. This time their worst fears had come true.
The Martins went into the burning building, determined to save something of the machinery, and barely escaped with their lives. Several employees also ventured into the doors but quickly turned back. All they were able to salvage was three drive belts.
Firefighters, employees, and volunteers struggled for three hours to move combustible material in the yard and outbuildings, but a great deal was consumed, including 600 bundles of shingles and many piles of sawn lumber. By 9am, the men were filthy and thoroughly exhausted after their labours in the intense heat and thick smoke.
As well as the lumber and building, the Martins lost a great deal of machinery. The saws were a total loss, as were the shingle mill, planers, and machinery for producing barrel staves and lath. The Martins carried $4,500 of fire insurance, split among three companies. Their loss exceeded $12,000.
After resting and cleaning up, several of the volunteers spent the afternoon getting signatures on a petition that requested the mayor to call a public meeting to discuss the matter of aid for the Martins in rebuilding. Mayor Thomas Swan readily agreed, and called the meeting for Aug. 2, the Tuesday following the fire.
About 50 people attended that meeting. All the speakers expressed sympathy with the Martins in their loss, and advocated civic aid of some kind. James McMullen, a enterprising businessman and a future MP and senator, noted the high reputation of the Martins and the importance of their operation to the town in drawing business and employing about a score of men.
Tom and Alex Martin had considered the sawmill to be only marginally profitable. A steady supply of good saw logs was becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, and margins on lumber had become slim indeed. They had let it be known that they were disinclined to rebuild the sawmill, to concentrate instead on their grocery store and other enterprises, but had yet to make a definite decision. They did not have the resources to replace the operation on its former scale, and stated that anything smaller would not be profitable. At the public meeting, Thomas Martin outlined his position. He did not want to accept a grant from the municipality, but would consider a loan should the council be agreeable. He and his would be willing to discuss the matter more fully with a committee of council.
By a vote of 40-3 the meeting voted to appoint a committee of five, headed by James McMullen, to meet with the Martins to discuss rebuilding of the mill, and to determine what assistance, in the way of a loan or tax concessions, might be granted.
McMullen wanted to waste no time. He agreed to have his committee meet with the Martins and report to another public meeting three nights later, on Aug. 5.
A larger crowd turned out for the second meeting. McMullen reported the results of the committee’s discussions with Tom and Alex Martin. The firm would be unable to resume operating on its former scale without substantial civic assistance. They suggested $5,000, in the form of a loan from Mount Forest at 5% interest per year, repayable in eight years, and secured by a second mortgage on the property. The firm would carry insurance payable to the town.
Several of the town’s leading businessmen rose to speak in favour of the proposal, which they wanted submitted at once to council. Because the measure required a debenture issue, a plebiscite, and ratepayer approval would be necessary. Only one person spoke against the loan, a carpenter named Charles Bodley. At the end of the meeting those present endorsed the report by a vote of 27-3. Interestingly about half of those present did not express an opinion.
The Martins were quite specific about what they wanted in the rebuilt plant. The main saw would cut 12,000 board feet of lumber per 10 hour shift. They also wanted a cutoff saw, an edging saw, stave cutter, a machine for making barrel heads, a jointer, a planing machine, and other smaller tools required for making barrels.
They expected a continuing demand by flour mills in the area for barrels. Power would come from a new boiler and a 50HP steam engine, which the Martins planned to place in a separate fire-proof brick building. The recommendations of the meeting went to Mount Forest council, and were discussed at the Aug. 15 meeting. That night, council was occupied with the granting of aid to the Georgian Bay & Wellington Railroad. When the Martin & Son report came up, council voted to table the Martin loan until the next meeting of council.
When the matter was listed on the agenda again on Sept. 5, council placed it in the hands of a special council committee of five, chaired by councillor J.A. Halsted. That committee seems to have succeeded in delaying and then burying the matter for good. There was no further mention of aid to the Martins at council meetings in 1881.
Council possibly had second thoughts about adding to the town’s debenture debt. For 1881, debt servicing required 8 mils of the 22 mil tax rate, or about 36% of tax revenue. There also seems to have been some factions and animosities around the council table.
Mount Forest council consisted of a mayor, reeve, deputy-reeve, and 11 councillors. At most meetings, four or five were absent, and frequently meetings had to be cancelled for want of a quorum. And the Martins themselves may have decided that a rebuilt sawmill would not be a good investment.
Apart from the proposal of aid to Martin & Son, the major fire of July 30 resulted in an examination of the town’s fire fighting equipment and capabilities. Mount Forest’s volunteer firefighters had only minimal resources in fighting the Martin blaze. A private contractor provided water by the wagon load, which the firefighters heaved by the bucketful with little in the way of results. The town had no fire engine to pump large quantities of water under pressure.
After weeks of study and investigation, the fire committee of council recommended against buying a fire engine. Instead, the members suggested the organizing of a hook and ladder company. It does not appear that the company was ever organized. And it was several years later, and after some pressure from fire insurance companies, that Mount Forest purchased its first fire engine.