The response by the Ashtabula Fire Brigade was minimal. G.W. Knapp, the city's fire chief, was an alcoholic who even when sober was slow to make decisions and easily confused. The Lake Erie Hose Company's hand-pumped and steam-pumped horse-drawn fire engines arrived first, but Knapp never gave any orders to fight the flames. He told a bystander that there was no use in fighting the fire, even though it was plain that some survivors were still trapped in the wreck. Railroad employees also told Knapp that his firefighters should get the wounded out and clear a pathway up the side of the ravine. At least one member of the town begged Knapp to put water on the flames, but he refused. Instead, the townspeople secured buckets and (with the help of some members of the fire brigade) tried to put out the blaze. The Protection Fire Company's hand-pumped engine and the Neptune Hose Company's steam-pumper (both horse-drawn) were hauled more than a mile through town to the bridge, but arrived too late to stop the spread of the fire.