WPBFD History

forces that are avail- able today in West Palm Beach. Being a fireman in 1925 was certainly not a pre- ferred career. 1926 The alarm on March 4, 1926, reported a fire at the Pine Ridge Hospital located at 13th Street and Divi- sion Avenue. The blaze started in a laundry shed but quickly spread to nearby buildings fi-

ing unusually frigid temperatures. The fire department was busy all day, answer- ing seven fire calls. Most of the alarms were attributed to heating devices, es- pecially oil stoves and fireplaces. At 11:40 that night flames con- sumed the home of Ruby H. Menges located at 10th Street and Tamarind Ave- nue, directly across the street from the block ravaged by fire

Northboro Fire Station circa 1926.

only two months earlier. By the time firemen from Cen- tral Station arrived there were twelve pine structures burning in the stiff northwesterly wind. Eighteen year old Elman Coleman burned to death as he slept in his home. Again, more than a hundred people were left homeless. All twelve houses burned to the ground and little of their contents was saved. Losses totaled $14,000 and insur- ance paid $5,000. The principal reason for these fires of widespread destruction was the construction prevalent in the early 1900s. Homes had been built only a few feet apart. Their wood-frame walls and wood shingle roofs had been dried by the tropical sun for years. Balloon construction al- lowed fires to climb vertically in walls long before dis- covery. There were other contributing factors to the con- flagration hazard. Water supply problems resulted under these situations of extreme demand. Telephones were

nally threatening the hospital itself. Nurses averted a panic as they led the infirm outside. The fire truck was delayed some twenty minutes when it became stuck in deep sand on a street that was under construction. By the time the truck arrived two wood frame houses and four portable buildings containing the isolation wards had been destroyed, but the main hospital building was saved. Damage was estimated at $3,000. Fire losses for 1925-26 totaled an astounding $166,131.30. The largest fire of the fiscal year occurred May 30, 1926. At four o'clock in the morning, six wood frame houses on 11th Street west of Tamarind Avenue went up in smoke. Two fire companies were able to bring the fire under control in two hours. Insurance recovered was only $5,000 of the total loss of $10,400. In 1926 arrangements were made for the purchase of the department's first aerial truck. Cost of the new

uncommon, causing delayed notification. Heating units lacked proper safety features and many people were not proficient in the use of such equipment. Pro- grams to educate the public in fire safety were nonexistent. The men and equipment were in- adequate for the tasks that they faced. Fires of such severity would present a problem for the fire

American La France was $15,500. T-41, as it was designated, bore Model #3660 and Engine #5497. The spring-loaded 75 -foot wood ladder that sprang up from its bed was operated mechanically by hand cranks. Two men were needed to ma- neuver the apparatus, one to drive and the other to steer the rear tiller. Many officials in city government were

Southboro Fire Station circa 1926. 10