WPBFD History

business sections would have been wiped out. I shall recommend that an election be called im- mediately for bonds to install the high pressure system to protect the business district, and hope to have the system installed before December 1. It is too late to wait as Jacksonville did, until the business section is devastated, before we take this precaution. Mayor Biggers was a rather colorful person under more serene conditions. He was known not only for his impetuosity, but also for his rather bizarre flair for fash- ion. He frequently appeared in public wearing a safari hat and open toed sandals exposing his painted toe nails, each sporting a different color. Despite these eccentricities he was considered a man of high intellectual capacity and was successful in the real estate business along with his civic role as a leader of the community. In his later years he suffered from failing eyesight and nearly burned his house down. After that unfortunate incident he was placed in a nursing home for his own protection. A relief effort was quickly organized to assist the negro victims who had lost everything in the conflagra- tion of April 30. Police Chief Frank H. Matthews headed the relief committee. Oddly enough, the first contribution, and what would prove to be one of the largest, came from the Ku Klux Klan in the amount of $100. The City of West Palm Beach added another $200. By May 6 more than $1,500 had been collected and many businesses had donated food and clothing. Friends of Paul Majewski organized a benefit mo- tion picture performance at the Rialto Theatre on May 2. Proceeds were to help Majewski rebuild the Star Theatre which had burned to the ground. Palm Beach organized its first voluteer fire fighting force on the night of May 1, 1922. Elmer Schultz, chief of the regular force, conducted the meeting and outlined the duties of the new volunteers. Some 15 men joined the new organization. It is not clear if the fire in West Palm Beach prompted the recruitment. In the aftermath of the Rosemary Avenue debacle, the concerned West Palm Beach council decided to take a serious look at Chief Sadler's proposals. Something had to be done to prevent a reoccurrence of such a large loss. At the May 2 meeting the council called for a vote on a bond issue to pay for the high pressure system Sadler had requested. They also wanted an investigation of the water company's service during the fire and a determination of what responsiblity it had for the conflagration. The fire chief told council members that the fire could have been confined to the building of origin if adequate water had been available at the outset. Sadler and his men were commended by the council for their excellent work during the fire. A city bond issue for the high pressure system

been gazing into a crystal ball.

In a classic example of "rule by disaster," a major fire broke out on Sunday evening, April 30, 1922, less than a week after Mr. Cole's letter had been published. The area of origin was the cellar of a store on the corner of 3rd Street and Rosemary Avenue in a building owned by D. F. Dunkle and occupied by Williams Brother’s Gro- cery. The fire spread rapidly after reaching a twenty gal- lon kerosene storage tank and soon involved some twenty -one buildings, including the Star Theater owned by Paul Majewski. The fire started at 7:30 p.m. and was not brought under control until midnight. The Palm Beach Post reported that the glow from the fire could be seen from as far away as Jupiter. Fire equipment responding from West Palm Beach included a Type 10, Type 12, Type 14 and Type 75 appa- ratus. Several of the hose lines were twelve hundred feet long. Palm Beach provided an additional Type 75 to as- sist. The Lake Worth Fire Department also sent help. Three thousand five hundred feet of hose were used and forty-eight feet of ladders. The major problem had been foreseen by Sadler in his recent request to the council. There was a critical shortage of water which made containment of the fire im- possible. City Manager Riddle responded to the water company to see what could be done about the poor water supply. Riddle demanded that the pressure be increased and the line to Palm Beach closed. The operator at the water plant at first refused to raise the pressure and said that the valve to Palm Beach had been closed. He subse- quently did raise the pressure from fifty to sixty pounds and then again to seventy-five pounds, but even this failed to supply the needed water. Mr. Riddle then physically pushed the stunned worker out of the way and, with an- other man assisting, closed the valve to Palm Beach. It took thirty turns to fully close the valve. The pressure then increased to eighty pounds providing the water nec- essary to subdue the fire. Mr. Riddle was credited with saving at least half a block by his actions at the water plant. In the end, more than a block and a half lay in ruins. Still glowing embers were finally doused by a light rain that began to fall. Total fire loss was $114,002.25 with insurance of $25,813.20 being paid. Mayor Biggers had the unpleasant task of explain- ing the problems at the water company to a Palm Beach Post reporter. He referred to the need of Chief Sadler's proposed high pressure system, saying:

The fire loss last night demonstrates beyond the shadow of a doubt the absolute need of a high pressure system for the congested areas of the city. Had this blaze started on Clematis or Da- tura or Banyan Streets, or Narcissus, the entire

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