The Banks Historical Society presented two pieces of Banks' early in-home firefighting equipment history to the Banks Fire District during a brief ceremony held during a public safety open house Oct. 12.
Saved from destruction before the Wilkes House was demolished in July, employees of Five Star Builders, hired by the property owners to demolish the house, found two antique "fire extinguishers," though not the modern type we picture today.
Resembling pear-shaped hand grenades, the devices were typically filled with water or carbon tetrachloride, which was later found to be hazardous to human health.
One of the devices was identified as a Red Comet brand, and likely dated to the early part of the 20th century. Both contained the original liquid they were manufactured with.
Banks Fire Chief Rodney Linz explained to a crowd of curious onlookers after they were handed over to the district by Banks Historical Society President Marsha Kirk that they could either be hurled at a fire, or some were designed to break and dump the liquid continued inside over a fire when a certain temperature was reached.
The district plans to display them in their glass display cases in their Banks headquarters.
