WPBFD History

Royal Poinciana and Breakers Hotels. Metal fire escapes were installed in the two hotels by the Metal Products Company of Jacksonville. The outlay would later prove well worth the investment. A midnight brush fire July 13, 1916, threatened a fernery located south of Calberg Court. Firemen were unable to get the truck close to the fire and had to use shovels to throw sand on the flames. Several fern sheds were damaged, but firemen were credited with saving the nursery. In 1916 the Town of West Palm Beach became the City of West Palm Beach. The population was at 4,000 and steadily increasing. Real estate taxes provided $61,000 of the city's operating budget for the year. Ten new "rubber coats" were purchased for the fire- men at a cost of $48.00. Maintenance of the Fire Depart- ment for fiscal year 1915-16 decreased to $3,338.48. Chief Sadler was driving a new Buick "motor car". At the city council meeting held November 21, 1916, bids for a new hook and ladder truck were re- viewed. The Kelly-Springfield Company offered a ma- chine that met the specifications at $4,400, delivered. The only other bid came from American LaFrance at $6,000. The apparatus, also referred to as a "city service

On Wednesday night, January 19, 1916, the firemen hosted a banquet at the fire hall. The meal, cooked by the men, received rave reviews by those in attendance. One of the special guest speakers was Carl Kettler, a former member of the association. A special sermon for firemen was given by Pastor Hubbard at the Baptist Church on the evening of February 6, 1916. The speech was entitled "Fighting Fire." All West Palm Beach firemen were invited and the on duty personnel also attended with the stipulation that they might have to depart in a hurry if a fire occurred. The Palm Beach Post article of February 5 made it sound as if the firemen were not particularly interested by proclaim- ing in the headline "Firemen Now Promise to Attend Church Once." Cecil R. Hull joined the volunteer ranks in 1916. At his retirement in the early 1950s he recalled the early days: "We had what then was 'real modern' equipment. You'd laugh at it now, but we were proud of it. It was mechanized then, of course. Some years earlier the de- partment had horse drawn equipment - drawn by Sheriff George Baker's horses." In July the East Coast Hotel Company invested $15,000 to upgrade the safety of guests staying in the

Ed Southerland, George Rouse, John Stephenson, —— Hartley, Carl Schmidt and —— Schultz Clowning on the horse drawn ladder in 1915. 4