WPBFD History

be performed at the fire stations. The chief required each man climb a ladder placed against the side of the station five times each duty day. In order to impress the public and other city personnel, the ladder drill was conducted at 5:00 each afternoon as workers passed the stations on their way home. Apparatus in service at the time included two 750 gallon per minute and one 500 gallon per minute Ameri- can La France engines, an American La France combina- tion city service truck, and two Ford chemical wagons. The chemical wagons were equipped with 35 gallon chemical tanks and were primarily used on fires where hydrants were not readily available. Reserve apparatus consisted of a 750 gallon per minute American La France engine, a 75 foot quick-raising American La France aerial truck, and an American La France high pressure hose wagon carrying 1000 feet of 3 inch hose. Automobiles used by the department were a Studebaker sedan for the chief and a Buick touring car for the assistant chief. During the 1930s Chief Sadler ruled with an authori- tative hand. He developed criteria for the hiring of new personnel and personally selected those who would be given fireman positions. There were no rules, regulations, or policies established by the city that affected the general operation of the fire department. The enforcement of dis- cipline was entirely in the hands of the chief, who had the authority to reprimand, suspend or discharge anyone for violation of the rules. The chief also had the only voice in promoting men within the department. He established the promotional criteria of seniority, merit, and efficiency relying on his own interpretation of these factors in mak- ing his final choice. In most cases seniority was the de- ciding factor in promotions. After more than seventeen years as chief, Sadler still liked to get in on the action. On October 31, 1930, he responded with his men to 525 North Poinsettia where Antonio Lenores had been overcome while working on a gas pipe under a house. As firemen administered oxygen to the man, Sadler donned a gas mask and crawled under the house to reconnect the leaking pipes. 1931 Mrs. Fred Mercer suffered severe burns in a fire at her home on Saturday morning, January 3, 1931. She was trying to restart a fire in her fireplace by pouring kerosene onto the logs. Fire suddenly flashed igniting the kerosene can. A passerby, J. D. Smith, rushed into the home at 533 Gardenia Street to rescue Mrs. Mercer and her child. He suffered burns on his hands and feet for his heroic ef- forts. The child was uninjured, but both Mercer and Smith were admitted to Good Samaritan Hospital for treatment. Firemen kept damage to the house at a mini- mum.

salvaging what little equity they might have in their prop- erty. In a report to the city commission on October 18, 1930, Chief Sadler stated: Fires of apparent incendiary origin have been responsible for a large part of our losses in the past year. All such fires of apparent incendiary origin or where there are indications that the fire was of questionable origin have been thor- oughly investigated and all evidence turned over to the County Solicitor. In cases where suffi- cient evidence to warrant prosecution has been procured, action has been taken. Owing to the serious nature of the charge, conviction is diffi- cult and uncertain; but, I believe that these in- vestigations and other work done in connection with questionable fires has a tendency to check fires of this nature. Chief Bennett T. Kennedy in his Fire History of the City of West Palm Beach described Sadler's problem as, "The sparks generated from friction when mortgages rubbed against insurance policies caused a dramatic rise in fires of incendiary origin." Chief Sadler struggled to maintain adequate man- ning levels. About twenty men were still being carried on the rolls as volunteers, but they were no longer active fire- men. The fire department consisted of 35 personnel in the following ranks in October of 1930: Chief 1 Assistant Chief 1 Captains 6 High Pressure Eng 1 Driver/Engineers 10 Privates 16 The annual report for 1929-30 indicated that there were 274 alarms of which 253 were classified as fires, 6 lungmotor calls, 12 false alarms, 1 special call, and 2 calls outside the city to Riviera and Belle Glade. Total fire loss for the year was $59,272.66. The largest single loss re- sulted from the McGinley Building fire. The top three causes of fire were: smoking, 70; brush and rubbish out of control, 31; and children playing with fire, 20. There were 2 fires started by using a "lit match to see gas gauge." No fire deaths were recorded during the year. The only fire injury occurred on September 15, 1930, when Mrs. R. E. Felder suffered burns on her hands when her gasoline stove exploded. One of the major concerns of Chief Sadler was the state of training the regular firemen received. There was still no drill tower or other facility as had been requested for many years. What few exercises were possible had to

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