About 100 feet from where Firefighter Emily Lockie stood prior to the start of Wednesday’s annual Make & Break hose race, a memento of the race’s past hung on the wall of the Douglas Fire Hall.
A large photograph, dated from 1905, showed 10 men in shorts and T-shirts poised to drag a hose cart by a large rope. One man in front was strapped as if he were a horse, down on all fours with the rope strapped to his back. Men in black three-piece suits and hats stood behind them, eager to watch the contest.
The scene Saturday was a little different. Four teams of Capital City Fire/Rescue firefighters, including both Lockie and her husband Scott, stood in full fire gear. Some were holding rolled-up hoses, ready to unfurl them down Third Street in Douglas.
Lockie held the nozzle. She would be the one to actually shoot the water at the end of the race.
Dozens of people crowded into the street in the 75-degree sun, looking for a few moments of relief from the heat.
“I just want to get sprayed!” a shirtless boy in blue sunglasses yelled just prior to the first race. He got his wish.
Lockie, who has been volunteering off and on for CCFR since 2014, smiled as she opened the nozzle and pointed it at the crowd.
“If they’re at the line, they know they’re going to get wet,” Lockie said. “People come for it. People who don’t want to get wet kind of stand in the background. I think people know, they come to the hose race because they know they’re going to get wet.”
Even as everybody has fun and gets sprayed down, those in the race have an appreciation for the long-running tradition. The hose races used to pit the different stations against each other, as friendly rivalries.
That’s changed in recent years, Senior Firefighter Ray Roberts said. With many stations not fully staffed, Roberts said, they just put together teams of four prior to the race every year now. He said the race can help firefighters hone their skills while also having a good time.
Now, both Lockie and Roberts said, the race is a way for the firefighters to interact with the community.
“There’s something exhilarating about participating in a tradition that’s really important to the fire department and seeing the light in people’s eyes,” Lockie said. “They just light up and they’re excited and it’s a fun way to interact with the community.”
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
A historic photo dated from 1905 hangs on the wall of the Douglas Fire Station depicting an early Fourth of July hose race. (Alex McCarthy | Juneau Empire)
