WPBFD History

termination. The fire that raged across the seas had to be extinguished. The war would affect the fire department in many ways over the next four years. Department personnel would be called to serve their country in distant places. Chief Sadler had to organize auxiliary firemen to fill the vacancies. Civil service standards were temporarily low- ered due to the shortage of able bodied men and personnel were comprised of those who did not qualify for military service. These interim firemen were trained under a pro- gram established by Civilian Defense. Auxiliary firemen performed their hazardous duties well throughout the war years. Hundreds of alarms were answered by these gallant men without one case of a fire raging out of control. German submarines lurked just off the Florida coast stalking Allied shipping. Air raid warning signals were installed at the fire department and headlights on all vehi- cles had to be shaded with tape in case of a surprise attack from the air. There were many special instructions given to the department as evidenced by log entries. On De- cember 27, 1941, the chief issued air raid warning infor- mation to all the stations. 1942 By January of 1942, firemen were busy making blackout curtains to hang in the station windows in case of enemy attack. Chief Sadler loaned sirens to the town of Jupiter and the W. S. Farm Labor Supply Center at Pa- hokee for the duration of the war. A typical air raid warn- ing test was documented as follows: Air raid warning tested. Yellow message received at 11:02 a.m. Blue message received at 11:16 a.m. Red message received at 11:33 a.m. All members of Platoon #1 reported at Central Station. Also, W. H. Lingenfelter and L. A. Tanner reported at High Pressure Station. White message received at 12:04 p.m. Testing the air raid warning system was almost a daily routine. By 1943 the siren at Central Station was sounded every day at noon and unscheduled tests contin- ued. Whenever these warnings were in effect, only au- thorized vehicles were allowed to use their shaded head- lights. A wood training tower was constructed in 1942. The facility was located on the north side of First Street between Rosemary Avenue and the Florida East Coast Railroad. The instructor of the interim firemen, Assistant Chief J. R. Larrabee, had served the country in World War I and was not called to duty again. The first review of the pension plan was completed

Good Samaritan Hospital and placed in an iron lung. Af- ter 45 minutes, hope of saving his life was abandoned. The funeral was held on Wednesday, June 25. The station log of that date reflects that firemen from Palm Beach covered West Palm Beach while "Capt. W. M. Hayden, A. C. Muller, S. D. Reeves, and M. J. Sachs act as pallbearers for Capt. Juergen." G. J. Tessier and S. B. Norton also served as pallbearers. Uniformed members of the department provided an honor guard at the Mizell- Simon Chapel and Woodlawn Cemetery during the ser- vices. "Captain Juergen," Chief Sadler eulogized, "was an excellent officer and capable fireman. His death is a great loss to the department and to the community, for he had the respect of his men and of the citizens with whom he dealt." Juergen had joined the West Palm Beach Fire De- partment on December 1, 1922, and was immediately given the rank of captain. He was assigned to command the South Borough Station where he served until his tragic accident at 42 years of age. The first to benefit from the West Palm Beach Firemen's Relief and Pension Fund was Mary C. Juergen, the widow of Captain Joseph H. "Harry" Juergen. After this tragic accident, the department instituted a new requirement for all future firefighters - they must be able to swim. This was the second accident in less than two weeks that claimed the life of a local fireman. On June 15, Palm Beach Fire Chief Elmer Schultz was killed in an automo- bile accident in Broward County. Throughout the one hundred year history of the West Palm Beach Fire Department, firefighters have put their lives on the line in a multitude of dangerous situa- tions; danger is part of the profession. During that period, Captain Juergen's death was the only "line of duty" death on the department. Hopefully, future histories of the West Palm Beach Fire Department will be able to say the same. Fire loss for the 1940-41 fiscal year was $9,976.73. A lower figure would never be seen. The city had slowly crawled from the depths of eco- nomic ruin over the last decade, but another unexpected event would prevent complete recovery. The United States was drawn into World War II on December 7, 1941, when Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor. The West Palm Beach Captain's Journal of that date had the following entry: "Japan declares war on the United States by bombing American outposts." The attack unified the American people after years of heated debate over the isolationist position held by many. Not since the early days of the depression had the nation rallied together toward a common cause. Emotions quickly shifted from surprise, to anger, and finally to de-

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