WPBFD History

fire situations had been debated since the early 1970s when investors first began to take maximum advantage of smaller parcels of land by building higher. The city had passed one of the most progressive sprinkler codes in Florida back in 1973, but existing buildings and several that were under construction at the time had been "grandfathered in" without the new safeguards. The MGM Grand Hotel fire in Las Vegas on No- vember 21, 1980, that resulted in 84 deaths and 769 inju- ries brought this issue to the forefront again in West Palm Beach. The city at the time had twenty-four structures that ranged from five to thirty stories in height. Fifteen of these buildings had no sprinkler systems. The Palm Beach Post published an editorial on December 30, 1980,

A.L. 5980 A.D. 1980 CENTRAL FIRE STATION [Square & Compass] [Letter "G" Emblem] THIS CORNERSTONE LAID BY THE MOST WORSHIPFUL GRAND LODGE OF FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS OF FLORIDA A copper "time capsule" was also placed behind the cornerstone. It contained a copy of The Fire History of

West Palm Beach by Chief Kennedy, a cur- rent roster of depart- ment personnel, Chief Kennedy's business card, a copy of the city commission meeting of March 31, 1980, six United States coins, and a sprig of acacia. The West Palm Beach Fire Department hosted the VIII annual Florida Firefighters' Olympics in 1980. It was a last minute deci- sion after another de- partment slated to host the event backed out. Chief Kennedy en- dorsed the Olympics and was a member of the planning commit-

that said, "Existing high rise buildings should be made sub- ject to current fire codes in any manner that would not require reconstruction." It concluded with, "It may be inconvenient and expensive to bring existing buildings into compliance with to- day's codes. The alter- native, however, is to take a chance on disas- ter." Chief Kennedy commented on the situation by saying,

"We're constantly be- ing held in disdain by developers who want to build a building and then walk away. But we're stuck with it from then on and it has to be safe. Besides, it reduces their insurance rates." One afternoon Fire Medics were called to treat a soft- ball player with an injured leg. The patient ended-up writing a song that was recorded on his next album, Coco- nut Telegraph (1980 MCA Records, Inc). Jimmy Buffett’s Growing Older but Not Up documented the injury: I rounded first never thought of the worst As I studied the shortstop’s position. Then crack went my leg like the shell of an egg,

Cornerstone ceremony at the new Central Station.

tee. The month long competition began on May 2 and included pool, track and field events, tennis, softball, pis- tol target shooting, wrestling, weightlifting, ping pong, swimming, basketball, golf, volley ball, racquetball, tug- of-war, arm wrestling, and horseshoes. The 1979-80 fire losses were $1,454,411, more than double that of the previous year. "We just had a lot more fires than the year before," Kennedy said. Medical alarms were now more than three times the number of fire alarms; 5,500 compared to 1,554. In late 1980 the department had 148 personnel man- ning six pumper companies, one ladder company, and three advanced life support units operating out of five fire stations. The first pumper with an automatic transmission was purchased during the year. The Hahn, designated P- 308, was also the first 1500 GPM pumper. High rise buildings and their special problems in

Someone call a decent physician. I’m no Pete Rose, I can’t pretend, While my mind is quite flexible these brittle bones don’t bend.

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