PHOTOS: Her name was “Smokey,” and she belonged to the firemen of Companies 1 and 2 at the fire station at Webster and Ford streets during the 1930s and ‘40s.
On Memorial Day 1935, a stray 3-month-old puppy showed up at the station, tired and thirsty. Capt. John Murphy couldn’t resist helping her. “She sat up on her haunches, looked up at us and we looked back at her and in about three minutes, she took over the place,” he said.
She became not only their mascot, but also the boss and queen of the fire station.
Smokey began every day by attending the morning roll call. Then she had her breakfast outside the kitchen door. Smokey wasn’t permitted in the kitchen or bedrooms. If there was no official activity during the day, Smokey would play ball with the men on duty, guard the building and wait for food between naps under a truck.