WPBFD History

were then transferred to fire dispatch at Central Station where the alarm was transmitted to all fire stations over the fire department radio system. The enhanced system automatically sent all 911 calls to the proper jurisdiction and the caller's address was shown on a screen at police dispatch. The old fire emergency telephone number (833 -0811) was retained as a business number. During 1981, fifty- eight firefighters lost their lives on the job nation-wide while twenty-three police

was a total loss.

Another old tra- dition was retired on November 6, 1981. Ever since the old ham radios had been in- stalled on the fire trucks there had been a morning and an eve- ning radio test. Not only did this ensure that the radios worked, but also that the trucks started at 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. By the 1980s this seemed a little redundant with the department answer- ing some 9,000 calls annually and nearly every piece of appara- tus responding to

Fish Thing Restaurant—Firefighters rush to help George Hannah after he jumped from roof to keep from falling into the inferno.

officers were killed in the line of duty. As was usually the case, firefighting was the leading occupation in deaths per 100,000 workers. Despite the danger, less than one percent of firefighters left the profession each year ac- cording to the National Fire Protection Association. 1982

alarms several times a day. Company officers, acting on behalf of their driver/engineers, asked the fire chief to make the change. As usual the request met with some resistance as the higher ranks were asked for opinions, but the change was implemented. Central Station firefighters got a work-out at 9:05

a.m. on December 11, 1981. A column of smoke was visible as the companies left the station heading south on Dixie. The fire was in living quarters on the sec- ond floor of Reward Lighting, 801 South Dixie Highway. An alert occupant had warned others in ten apartments to get out of the building as the smoke thick- ened. With rescue unnecessary, salvage was a primary concern as the flames were rapidly knocked back. The first floor was packed with lighting fixtures, some of which were expensive chande- liers. The fire was caused by careless use of smoking materi- als in an upstairs apartment. The new enhanced 911 emergency reporting system went into operation on December 16, 1981. All incoming emer- gency fire and medical telephone calls were now received at the police department. These calls

In 1982 the number of United States firefighters killed in the line of duty shot up to one- hundred and seventeen. There were 234,000 firefighters nation- wide and some one-thousand were now female. The term “fireman” had become obsolete. 1983 In an effort to improve the looks of his firefighters, Chief Bell or- dered new uniforms. This was entirely an administrative deci- sion as was common practice at the time. There was no need to involve the firefighters' union or anyone below the rank of deputy chief in such matters. The new uniforms were selected by the chief and distributed to all fire- fighters. One problem immedi- ately surfaced - the new "duds"

Reward Lighting fire on South Dixie Highway. 3