Irby Monroe Klinck is the youngest son of James Monroe Klinck and Annie Littleton. He started working at age 15 as a telephone operator. At age 18 he brushed elbows with King Cotton, working for the hoop manufacturer, Patterson, Busby & Co. Finally, in 1905 he found his calling; beginning as a driver for Hook & Ladder Co. no 2. He spent the next 25 years honing his skills and rising through the ranks of the Memphis Fire Department.
He became a captain in 1910, assistant chief in 1924 and chief in 1933.
While Irby was chief, Memphis won the National Fire Waste Council’s award for the best fire prevention program in the United States multiple times over. The second year he was chief, Memphis had the lowest fire loss in 37 years, despite its growth.
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Chief Klinck at his desk. This photograph always sat on my grandfather Merrill Klinck's chest of drawers.
For more information on the Memphis Fire Department, visit the Fire Museum of Memphis. |
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Chief Irby Klinck was the first of a series of Memphis Fire Chiefs who radically changed the face of the Memphis Fire Department, making it one, if not the most, premier metropolitan fire departments in the United States.
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