Prescott purchased its first hose cart in 1881 to compliment the Hook and Ladder wagon which was purchased in 1879. The wagon was hand-drawn by the “Mechanics” company and, as the name suggests, carried ladders and plaster hooks which were used to access burning buildings to salvage goods. The new hose cart was intended to quickly access the city’s fledgling water system with its hydrants located downtown for fire extinguishment. The “Dudes” company used the first hose cart. The “Toughs” established themselves a month after the city formally established the fire department on March 3, 1885. A fourth company, the “O.K.s”, came along in 1888, but they operated a hand-drawn wagon laden with hose instead of a cart.
They began taunting each other as to who would be the faster crew to douse a fire. A formal resolution to the question was in order and so a competition was set for May 1 downtown. Each company would run two hundred yards, lay one hundred and fifty feet of hose, catch the hydrant, and charge the line. Heavy betting began and the event was well attended. When the dust settled, the “dandy runners” of the Dudes handily beat the Toughs. The Dudes collected a silver trumpet as the prize as well as “floral offerings from lady admirers”. Sibling rivalry was the mainstay for the years to follow, with annual races held on the Fourth of July as well as any other time the proverbial gauntlet was thrown.
Hose cart racing faded with the arrival of mechanized fire engines in the twenties. A revival began in Prescott in 1957 when the annual Arizona Firefighter Convention was held locally. Attending agencies were encouraged to “dust off their hose carts” and bring them to the convention.
Hose cart racing is alive and well in Prescott to this day, regularly held on the first Sunday in July, starting at 9am. This event is managed by the United Yavapai Firefighters Local 3066 and Prescott Firefighters Charities, with firefighters from all over the state as participants. Not to be outdone, the wives form their own teams and compete as well.
