WPBFD History

telephone lines were out.

est children out the front door, but could not enter a bedroom where fire had trapped the three youngest. She broke the bed- room window from the outside, but was unable to get the kids out. Bystanders and police also made futile rescue attempts before fire units arrived. The victims were identified as James Destina, age 4, Moses Pierre, age 3, and Tamara Telfort, age 1. Many firefighters on the scene broke down, not even trying to hide their tears. The fire was determined to have been the result of one of the children playing with matches. Dealing with such a tragedy is the hardest part of fire- fighting. Fire personnel wanted to believe that they could pre- vent such a senseless loss of life, but there were cases, such as this one, where nothing could be done. Guilt tried to overcome better judgment as firefighters wondered if they should have done something different. It was hard even on those who thought they were steeled for anything. No one ever got used to it, and some, who couldn't take the emotional stress, moved on to other professions. The existence of stress was denied by some, but studies showed the compound effects of stress built-up over a career and could prove disastrous in a firefighter's personal life. A major step was taken in the late 1980s to face the problem and minimize damage sustained by individuals. Critical Incident Stress Debriefing was brought to West Palm Beach.

In August Chief Reese re-instituted the old Home Fire Safety Program that had been scrapped for more than a decade. Fire companies would once again walk from house to house passing out fire safety literature and offering a free inspection for potential fire hazards. Captain Robert "Pappy" Wilson of Station 6 retired from the department on August 19, 1988. Wilson held the modern record for years of service as a firefighter with a career span- ning 35 years and 7 months. He joined the West Palm Beach Fire Department on January 16, 1953, under Chief Larrabee. Wilson, the first rebel to openly question department policy, was twenty years ahead of time. It was rumored that he main- tained a diary in which he documented facts that would provide embarrassing evidence if needed for self preservation. The mere threat kept enemies at bay. Another Wilson trademark was purchasing supplemental equipment with his own money. His bunker coat sported special gadgets, such as a personal rap- pelling rope, harness, and multi-channel, two-way portable ra- dio. Wilson's portable was better than those provided by the department. By November the fire pension controversy was free burn- ing. Alton Ashby, the fire board chairman, announced that the board had voted to file suit against the city over the 2.43 million dollars of Chapter 175 funds that had been rebated

C.I.S.D. was conducted for the first time after the tragic Broadway fire. All personnel on the scene later met at the police department to discuss their experiences and feelings that day. Sit- ting as a group they talked under the guidance of trained debriefers and most expressed some relief after the meeting. One of the first major buildings to be hit by the Downtown/Uptown arson- ists was the Cordova Apart- ments. The three story building located at 1004 Georgia Avenue had been a favorite gathering place for vagrants until someone poured a flammable liquid in the hallway shortly after midnight on December 14, 1988. Firefighters battled the blaze for two hours in frigid temperatures. Mutual aid was requested from Palm Beach so a second aerial could pour water from above. The entire neighbor- hood was beginning to look like a war zone with vacant lots, hundreds of partially destroyed houses, and an eerie absence of people.

to the city over the last twenty-five years. The commission geared-up for a fight by allocating $50,000 to begin paying for antici- pated court costs. City At- torney Carl Coffin tried to use scare tactics by suggest- ing that the city stop accept- ing the annual rebates, but Ashby was not one to be intimidated. The alarm caught everyone's attention on the afternoon of November 9, 1988. Dispatch had "beeped out" a structure fire in the 3000 block of Broad- way adding that there were children trapped. Engine 31 was first in with Captain Everett Coleman in charge. The firefighters rushed in to douse the flames, but there was nothing they could have done to save the three youngsters. Lucille Destina had been watching her three children and two of her neighbor's children when she suddenly smelled smoke in the small apartment. She was able to get the two old-

The vacant Cordova Apartments. 3