Date in History: 12/17/1923
Though firemen with the Fort Atkinson Fire Department have sometimes incurred serious injuries on the job, the only fatalities in the history of the Department occurred on December 17, 1923. Responding to a call, the Fort firefighters were speeding toward Cambridge on what’s now Highway 12, when the driver lost control of the vehicle, and flew off the road, going end over end until finally stopping about 40 feet from the road.
All six men on board were rushed to the new hospital on Madison Avenue. Three of the men– Frank Hoffman, of the Hoffman Lumber Company; Herman Smith, a blacksmith; and William Gross, a mechanic for the Northwestern Manufacturing Co. and Creamery Package would die later that day.
This historic minute has been brought to you by the Hoard Historical Museum, asking you to remember their sacrifice by honoring all the brave men and women who serve and protect our community.
This historic document aired on the radio as an Historic Minute on 7/26/2004.