WPBFD History

CHAPTER THIRTEEN A New Pension Board 1987 to 1989 Trickery and treachery are the practices of fools that have not wits enough to be honest. Benjamin Franklin

trading the old fire department telephone number for a free modular telephone. A deal was struck and a new portable phone was installed in the city manager's car. The private fire line was changed to 833-0002. Chief Reese took a step toward alienating officers in the latter part of 1987. He proposed restructuring the department by renaming the former platoon assistant chief position as bat- talion chief. There was to be no change in pay, but even a sim- ple change in title can upset the traditional nature of firefight- ers. The change made sense if one looked at the chain of com- mand. Second in command had been changed years before from deputy chief to assistant chief. Platoon commanders were on shift yet had retained the designation assistant chief. "You can call me anything you want, as long as the pay's the same," said one captain in line for promotion. Not everyone agreed. An unauthorized sign of the times appeared on station bulletin boards: "NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES, due to the recent outbreak of aids, kissing ass has been temporarily suspended." In November of 1987 the West Palm Beach Fire Depart- ment began working with the Junior Woman's Club on a new project. The Bluedot Program was to help in locating fire hy- drants at night. Small blue reflectors were placed on the road- ways of West Palm Beach at hydrant locations with costs shared by neighborhood associations, the Downtown Develop- ment Association, Perini Corporation, and the City of West Palm Beach. Two new pumpers were delivered from E-One in De- cember. The two 1250 GPM pumpers were identical and fea- tured a center mounted pump panel to the rear of the jump seats which allowed driver/engineers a safer post as they monitored pumping operations. These were also the first trucks to be equipped with telescoping scene lights for improved illumina- tion at night. The white cab roofs were continued. Emmit Dixon won the athlete of the year award from firefighters early on the morning of December 24, 1987. Fire broke out in his apartment at 2100 Australian Avenue trapping Dixon in the bedroom where he slept. No problem, as he went to the window and jumped from the fourth floor. Landing on his feet in sand, Dixon sprang up uninjured. "It's hard to be- lieve. I estimate the fall at thirty-five feet," said Battalion Chief Ronald E. Johnson. "To survive that without any major damage is amazing." Possessions that people consider to be important may sometimes differ from what firefighters attempt to salvage at a fire. Consider the odd Christmas Eve fire at Ed Skurka's home. As flames roared in the bathroom of his house at 914 Ardmore Road, Skurka grabbed his 140 pound Great Dane and lugged it to safety. The dog couldn't escape on its own because it had been dead for more than a year. What Skurka carried outside was a statue that had been made of his former beloved pet. The plastic replica even had the dog's coat stitched over it. Trying to explain his attachment to wary firefighters he

1987 Another fire death was recorded on Sunday, January 25, 1987. The body of thirty-four-year-old Blaine Sampson was discovered on the bathroom floor after firefighters had knocked down an early morning fire that gutted her apartment at 840 McIntosh Street. The victim died of smoke inhalation in the accidental fire. The first annual Speck-A-Thon fishing tournament was held on the week-end of February 13, 1987. Sponsored by the F.O.F., the 3 day event offered prizes for the most and largest specks caught. Firefighters by the dozens invaded the small town of Okeechobee for a weekend of sport, not necessarily the fishing kind. The Black Angus and Fin & Feather were two of the most popular watering holes for the weary anglers after sunset. More than fifty West Palm Beach firefighters entered the first Speck-A-Thon. William "Feller" Dahl took top honors and a prize of $90 in the open division with a stringer weighing in at 13 pounds, 2 ounces. Donald Widing and George May shared the largest fish honors with catches of 1 pound, 5 ounces. West Palm Beach firefighters responded to help Riviera Beach at the Port of Palm Beach on March 17, 1987. The cargo vessel M. V. Diak was burning at dockside. Central Station firefighters had been watching the column of smoke rising from the port for ten minutes when the alarm sounded. Company 1- B answered the call and set up drafting operations to supply water to Riviera's pumpers. The new fire pension board was formed in April of 1987. Alton Ashby and Ronald Johnson were elected as representa- tives from the fire department and Ashby was named chairman at the first meeting. It was not long before heated disagree- ments erupted. The new board hired Steven Bloom, Local 727's attorney, as legal counsel to replace the city attorney. One of the first orders of business was a vote by all firefighters to determine how Chapter 175 rebates were to be used. The firefighters opted for extra benefits, meaning that the city would have to contribute in excess of $800,000 for the current year and similar amounts in the future. The city was in a panic, no longer able to maintain complete control of the fire pension. City Finance Director Kathy Hankins became enraged over minor issues as Ashby toyed with her fears, but he was just warming up. Operation of the EMS Division had seen spiraling costs since its inception in 1977. In seeking alternative funding, fees for emergency transportation began in June of 1987. The private telephone number for personal use at Central Fire Station had been 833-1111 for as long as anyone could remember. It was commonly referred to as "three-one" by the firefighters. In June of 1987 Modular One, a local cellular tele- phone company, asked the city if they would be interested in

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