Baker City did not organize a paid, full-time fire department until about 1910. Before that the fire department consisted of a fire chief appointed by the mayor and volunteer firemen. The volunteers belonged to several "hose teams," usually teenagers and young adults who pulled a cart with two large wheels that held fire hose. When the bell at the top of the fire tower located near the courthouse sounded, the hose teams would go to their carts located in various parts of the city and race off to the fire. Competitions between hose teams in Northeastern Oregon and Southwestern Washington were popular spectator sports in the late 1800s and early 1900s.