WPBFD History

kler system and that stopped it right at the doorway. It's just super." Reese had the ear of at least one city com- missioner. Mayor Rick Reikenis said that he would con- sider making owners of exempt buildings install partial sprinkler systems if the fire chief recommended it. Prior to 1986 the department had purchased a wide variety of apparatus from different manufacturers. The absence of standardization was a headache for both the firefighters who used the equipment and the Maintenance Division responsible for repairs. Chief Reese, knowing that a number of new engines would be required in the next few years, wanted to purchase from one manufac- turer. Emergency One, located in Ocala, Florida, had en- tered the fire apparatus market with a vengeance in the early 1980s. Three factors swayed Reese to buy from E- One; price, quality, and the close proximity of the com- pany. P-401, the first E-One engine, was purchased in 1986 and was the first to have a white roof which gave it a sleeker appearance. Firefighters considered the new en- gine a huge improvement over the last two Macks that had been labeled "garbage trucks" by unhappy driver/ engineers. Chief Bell's rebuilt P-302/309 had never been reliable and the cabs of the Macks were extremely cramped. In 1986 the Florida legislature passed a law that would have a profound effect on the pensions of all West Palm Beach Firefighters, whether they were already re- tired or not. The law changed the make-up of fire pension boards to give firefighters more control. For decades the West Palm Beach Fireman's Pension and Relief Fund had been controlled by city officials. The board had been comprised of two city commissioners, the city manager, the fire chief and one firefighter with the city attorney serving as legal counsel; a "stacked board" in the eyes of firefighters. The new board would be comprised of two firefighters, two members of the public appointed by the city, and a fifth member appointed by the four seated members. The board could appoint legal counsel not as- sociated with the city. One question that had been brought to the old board concerned the use of Chapter 175 monies sent to the pen- sion each year as a rebate from local fire insurance premi- ums. A 1963 law stated that firefighters had the right to vote on how this money was to be used; either for funding the pension plan or for extra benefits. There had never been a vote in West Palm Beach and when that fact was presented to the old "city board" they responded by say- ing that they had "voted for the firemen." At issue was 2.43 million dollars that the city had used to offset their contribution each year rather than provide additional benefits. This question would not be answered for an- other six years.

for the fire floor by the rear exterior stairs. The high rise evolution was ordered by Acting Assistant Chief David L. Koenig. Ladder 1 was positioned in front of the building as Company 1-B laid supply lines to it. Company 4, led by Captain Ronald E. Johnson, hooked-up to the stand- pipe Siamese to provide water supply to the building be- fore heading up to the fire floor. The Sutphen aerial began pouring water into the tenth floor, but fully extended it was still about fifteen feet too low to be optimally effective. Basketman Bob Bothe braved high winds as he maneuvered the platform high above the crowded downtown street. When Com- pany 1-A and Company 4 were ready to make their inte- rior attack the aerial operation was suspended so as not to push the heat and smoke in their direction. Within an hour the fire was controlled by the thirty-five firefighters on the scene. There was only one minor injury during operations; Firefighter Craig Derringer was struck on the head when a ceiling fell. He was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, treated, and released. There was heavy fire damage to the tenth floor of- fices of the McAliley and Donaldson law firm. The sev- enth, eight, and ninth floors sustained heavy water dam- age. A sprinkler system would have snuffed out the fire within minutes and damage would have been minimal, but this older building had been "grandfathered in" when West Palm Beach passed the sprinkler code in 1973. The Comeau Building had historic significance. It had been designed by architect Henry Stephen Harvey who was the mayor of West Palm Beach in 1924-25. He also designed many of Palm Beach County's most well known buildings such as the Palm Beach Town Hall, the Harvey Building and Guarantee Building in downtown West Palm Beach, and the Seaboard Railway Station. Usually a major fire can reveal deficiencies in fire protection forces, equipment, or procedures and the Comeau Building was no exception. Radio communica- tions were severely hampered by the single channel sys- tem dating back to the 1940s. Officers on the fire floor were not able to receive direct communications from the fire ground commander on Clematis Street. All transmis- sions had to be relayed through the Emergency Commu- nications Operator at Central Station. Gloria Steinbauer, the E.C.O. on duty, also had to receive and dispatch other alarms at the height of firefighting operations. She was given a letter of recognition for her outstanding work un- der the extreme conditions. Chief Reese used this fire to again point out the im- portance of even a partial sprinkler system. "When I see the building owner on Monday I'm going to talk to him and show him what a partial sprinkler system would have done. It wouldn't have put the fire out, but it would have kept it from spreading. We had a fire in the Citizen's Building nine years ago. The building had a partial sprin-

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