First Fire Chief of Wilmington Fire Department
In the late afternoon June 16, 1933, members of the Wilmington Fire Department were en route to a fire. Chief Charles Schnibben rode his in official car with Fireman Alonzo Russ driving. Fire trucks were following the chief’s automobile. Sirens were blaring. After going around a parked car, Russ swerved to avoid hitting a flour truck driven. The accident occurred at around 6:05 P.M. Hitting an uneven spot in the road, the chief’s car struck the curb. The auto went across the street and hit a light pole. Then, the vehicle turned over three times and ended up on its roof. The accident resulted in a slight injury to Fireman Russ but caused Chief Schnibben’s death. Firefighters removed their chief from the wreck; he was taken to James Walker Memorial Hospital. He died at 9:45 P.M.
A German native, Schnibben arrived at the port city at around the age of fourteen. He was a veteran firefighter with forty-five years of service, dating back to approximately 1878. His earliest experiences dated to the volunteer brigades. According to the Wilmington Sunday-Star News of June 18, 1933, at nineteen, “he helped to fight Wilmington’s most destructive conflagration, the million dollar waterfront fire of February 1, 1886.”
Charles Schnibben (right), Chief of Wilmington Fire Department, his driver, horse and carriage
When Wilmington created its first professional fire department, Schnibben was chosen to lead it. During the worst fires, Schnibben kept a cool demeanor; the fire chief never sent a man into a situation where he would not lead. The Sunday Star-News wrote that a fitting epitaph would be that Schnibben “lived to serve and died in action carrying out the important responsibility entrusted to his keeping.”
References:
Mrs. Katherine E. H. Schnibben, Executrix of Charles Schnibben, and City of Wilmington v. Ballard and Ballard, Inc., and Clarence Grady, Case 36S-593, North Carolina Supreme Court Original Cases, 1930-1939, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh.
Sunday-Star News (Wilmington), June 18, 1933.
Wilmington Star, June 17, 1933.
