WPBFD History

CHAPTER TWELVE The Union Matures 1981 to 1986 Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. Mark Twain

exterior was the source of constant harassment for Ken- nedy. Everyone knew that the unfinished state was the way the building was supposed to be, but they were for- ever asking the chief when the outside was going to be painted. This was not a joke to the man who rarely broke a smile. Kennedy had completed his new station that would be a long standing monument to his career. He an- nounced that he would retire on June 15, 1981. Maybe he had heard enough about the unpainted exterior or had plans to move into another challenging position of leader- ship. As it turned out, he was to become the next Civil Defense Coordinator for Palm Beach County on the fol- lowing Monday morning. He soon became a familiar fig- ure on television whenever a hurricane threatened the east coast of Florida. He still held that position at the time of this writing.. Unlike the last time a fire chief was appointed, there was an heir apparent. It was widely accepted that Deputy Chief Curtis Adair would be named to replace Kennedy. Adair was probably the coolest fire ground commander that the department had ever produced. Like Chief Sadler from days past, he liked to get in on the action. At major fires Adair would take a forward command post while Kennedy handled the media down on the sidewalk. He had followed Kennedy's strict style of leadership even though it conflicted with his own more easy going man- ner. City Manager Richard Simmons fooled everyone when he selected Chief of Training Lamar Bell to fill the

1981 A carelessly discarded cigarette started a fire in a two-story wood frame rooming house January 14, 1981. Fire units responded at 1:09 a.m. and firefighters Larry Grasso and Dennis Hashagen found two bodies on the second floor while searching the building at 602-20th Street. Luchay Contilien, age 3 months, and Mary Renee Contilien, age 17, both perished. Numerous code viola- tions were found in the ensuing investigation. Saturday, March 21, 1981, was a big day for Chief Bennett T. Kennedy. After three years of arduous work his dreams of a new headquarters station were realized. The dedication was attended by many local dignitaries, and United States Representative Daniel A. Mica pre- sented Kennedy with a United States flag that had flown over the Capitol on March 10, 1981. VFW Post 2007 provided a color guard as the flag was dutifully raised. The new Central Fire Station was three stories tall and utilized exterior wall panels of architectural concrete. Two stair towers, at opposing corners of the building, had exteriors of bright red ceramic tile. The vast drive- through truck room had a quarry tile floor for easy main- tenance. A large metal roll down "fire door" provided protection for the watch office and captain's office in the event of a fire in the apparatus bay. Space had been pro- vided for a future emergency communications center where city and county officials could meet in case of an extreme civil disaster. A small fire museum on the first floor contained pictures of the early years and a brass bell off the old 1911

vacancy on June 24. It was a harsh blow to Adair, who had served competently for so many years. Within a few months he would retire in frustration and take an administrative job with the Boca Raton Fire Department. Bell named Donald E. Hubbard as Adair’s replacement. The department was stunned with the announcement of the

American La France chemical truck. The bell was donated by Mr. Wyman Lam- bert, Sr. The inte- rior was both luxuri- ous and spacious in comparison to the old Central Station. Construction was so substantial that firefighters soon began calling the station "Fort Kennedy." The un- finished concrete

Central Fire Station, North Dixie Highway and 4th Street

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