Images from the time show a distinguished man with a firm brow and a magnificent handlebar mustache. S. Charles Seckelman had the look of a man who was a leader, and in the 19th century he was known as the King of the Bethlehem Firemen.

A new play about the Seckelman, premiering Saturday at Touchstone Theatre in Bethlehem, takes a look at the renowned firefighter and his time, when volunteers relied on horse-drawn apparatus and the nearest body of water to put out fires.

“The King of Bethlehem Firemen” is written by Karen Samuels, one of three local historians who penned “Firefighting in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1741–1917,” published last year by Perseverance Publishing. The one-man play is directed by George B. Miller and stars Chris Simmons.

Samuels says she met co-writers Chris Eline and Nancy Rutman on Facebook, where all three frequently posted about the history of Bethlehem. They started to meet in person and realized they all had collections of firefighting memorabilia, particularly Eline.

“If you call the Bethlehem Fire Department and have a history question, they give you Chris’s name,” Samuels says.

She says between the three, they realized they had a book on the history of Bethlehem firefighting. But as they did research for the book, Samuels says, “one character really stood out.”

All historical accounts indicate S. Charles Seckelman was a beloved, charismatic man who not only fought fires against the huge challenges of the time, but started many of the firefighting organizations that still exist today. He was instrumental in bringing the fire department into the 20th century.

“I was so impressed with all this firefighter had accomplished and he has generations of family in Bethlehem, many of whom have become firefighters,” Samuels says. “Everything seemed to fall into place.”

She says when the trio gave talks on their book, the descendants of Seckelman would attend and became a fan club for the popular firefighter.

Seckelman was a German immigrant who came over as a toddler and grew up in New York City.

Samuels says his family was known for being painters, but even as a child, Seckeleman was fascinated by firefighting.

“He would chase firetrucks in Manhattan as a young boy,” she says.

After serving in the Civil War, Seckelman moved to Bethlehem to start a painting business and again was drawn to firefighting, where he developed a far-reaching reputation.

“All the newspaper clippings call him a very famous firefighter,” Samuels says. “He was a natural born leader and well liked.”

Samuels says Seckelman was very civic-minded and started the Pennsylvania Association of Firefighers. He then brought together firemen from Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe and Northampton counties to create the Four County Fireman’s Association.

Since men’s social clubs were all the rage at the time, he also started a fireman’s social club which still exists today.

The Ancient Antediluvian and Honorable Order of Goosenecks was named after the top part of a fire hose and was well-attended. The organization featured crazy rituals popular at the time, such as new members being tied up with rope and dragged across stage.

Seckelman also started the Bethlehem Maennerchor, a German American singing group.

He was known for fighting the city government for support for the volunteer fire departments and later in his life, traveled around the region selling fire hose.

“He must have been quite a character,” Samuels says.

She set the play in three scenes. The first shows some of the difficulties of fighting fires in 1882. Water and water pressure were unreliable, equipment frequently failed and unpaved streets were often impassable. In the scene, Seckelman is fighting a linseed oil-fueled fire at a paint mill in Bethlehem, relying only on water from the Monocacy Creek.

“It was pretty difficult with the equipment they had,” she says. “Access to water was the biggest issue.”

The second scene goes into Seckelman’s personal life as he grew up speaking German in school and moved to Bethlehem’s an adult.

The third scene shows how he hounded Bethlehem City Council, begging for money for the fire department.

To direct the play, Samuels reached out to Miller, an award-winning director who is the artistic director of Selkie Theatre, an area Irish American theater company. She says he helped her refine the play.

“He has been really wonderful,” she says.

Acclaimed actor Chris Simmons was tapped to breathe life into Seckelman, and Samuels says he is “so good” in the role.

Simmons is best known for producing, directing and performing in “An Evening at a British Music Hall” for 40 years in the Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia and New York City. He is currently working on a one-man show “The King of the Bowery- Chuck Connors, the Mayor of Chinatown.”

A brief multimedia presentation on early firefighting in Bethlehem will be shown prior to the performance and there will be light refreshments.