Lenawee County History: The cat that fueled firefighters' superstition
One hundred years ago, on Jan. 30, 1923, Adrian firefighters were called to a fire at the Adrian Knitting Co.
Their effort to put out the fire was stymied, it was suggested, by a black cat.
The alarm for the fire on Michigan Avenue came in at about 3 p.m. that day. The firefighters boarded their trucks and headed across town to put out the company's blaze.
On the way, however, one of the department's two kittens, a coal black cat, had apparently curled up inside the hose reel. As the fire trucks passed the library, the kitten woke up and leaped from the truck to the pavement, right in front of the following unit.
The truck missed the kitten, who scrambled for the sidewalk and back to the station. However, the firemen on the way to the fire in that followup truck called it an omen of bad luck. Their thoughts then turned to the call and the knitting company's plight, which appeared to have started in one of the shredding machines.
Upon arrival, the firemen parked on the hill near the knitting company and met up with the business president, Ladd Lewis Jr. The fire had melted the sprinkler system's nozzle seals, making it imperative for the Adrian Fire Department to take over.
As the firemen battled the fire, some movement on the hill caught the eyes of two of them. The followup fire truck that dodged the kitten a few minutes before was rolling down the hill. It had been parked at the corner of Allis Street and Michigan Avenue, next to a fire hydrant, its parking brake engaged for safety. However, the truck rolled west down the way, jumped a ditch and struck a pile of coal at the Acme Preserve Co.
Upon extinguishing the $300 mill fire, the wayward truck was examined. The truck's front end was planted in the coal pile, the back wheels hanging over the ditch. One of the rear springs was broken, two fenders were bent and the rear running board was twisted out of shape. Its hose supply had to be unloaded to lighten the truck for it to be towed out of its position.
Fire chief Harry Whitney said the truck was to be out of service for a short time until a new rear spring could be ordered. His men, who denied belief in superstitions, stated matter-of-factly the black kitten's presence was clearly responsible in part for the crash. The parking brake lever was also found to be broken, designed to hold the weight of the truck. All those who had seen the truck before the crash said it was in good condition.
Despite the firefighters' beliefs, all was forgiven, because the department's coal black kitten was back at the station 100 years ago today, awake and present for its customary 9 a.m. feeding.
Dan Cherry is a Lenawee County historian.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Lenawee County History: Cat that fueled firefighters' superstition
