On the first Wednesday afternoon of each month, retired Council Bluffs firefighters gather at the former No. 5 station to continue longtime friendships and reminiscence about old times.

"We learn history by talking with each other," said retired firefighter and amateur historian Dennis Devine. "We learn about how families are doing now. We reminisce about where we were and things that happened."

The history of Station No. 5 is worth noting.

On March 7, 1904, the South Side Improvement Club presented to the City Council a petition asking for a firehouse and chemical engine to be built in its neighborhood.

A fire two months earlier in which six family members were burned to death was the main reason for the request, according to information researched by former Fire Marshal Cal Petersen.

Three days later, on March 10, the council proposed the passage of an appropriation ordinance for the following year in which $5,000 would go for equipment and maintenance of a firehouse in that part of town, provided that the neighborhood club would furnish a suitable building at a fair rental rate.

By May 27, money was raised to buy the lot at 19th Avenue and South Eighth Street for a grand total of $100. Money was also raised to erect the building, which was approved by the council. On June 10, the $3,784 contract was awarded to Iowa Consolidated Construction Co. for the fire station.

By Jan. 1, 1905, the new firehouse was occupied and equipped with a chemical engine, just as the neighbors requested less than a year earlier. The building was rented to the city for 6 percent on the investment of $3,000.

Devine was stationed there during his 11-year firefighting career, working 12-hours shifts starting at 7 a.m.

"You were here more with (fellow firefighters) than with your family," he said.

As the city limits expanded to the south, it became apparent that Station No. 5 needed to be relocated, and on Nov. 9, 1973, the new station was opened at 3405 S. 11th St.

In 1978, the old structure saw new life when it was leased to Southwest 8 Senior Services for a meal site for seniors. In 1992, the building was turned over to the Council Bluffs Fraternal Order of Latin Americans with the stipulation that the first floor remain a senior meal site.

In 1998, an agreement was reached between the city of Council Bluffs and Local No. 15 of the International Association of Professional Firefighters to turn the building over to No. 15 for a union hall.

Union members remodeled the structure and invited all retired firefighters to use the building as a gathering place.

On April 4, 2001, they met for the first time, and it has been a monthly tradition since.

"It's a good way to get together and share stories," Petersen said. "Every time firefighters get together it's something that happened at the station or at a fire."

Devine said he plans to send out invitations to some 75 retired firefighters to come to the next monthly meeting Oct. 4.