WPBFD History

dwellings, by company members in their dis- tricts. 21. Requiring approved automatic sprinkler equipments in all buildings which involve seri- ous life hazard or might act as conflagration breeders. City and fire department officials were quick to blame deficiencies on a lack of funds. Many of these rec- ommendations have not been implemented even today, some forty-two years later. Despite these deficiencies the city's fire losses for the 1951-52 fiscal year were a low $58,715, or $1.36 per capita as compared to a national per capita loss of $5.63. This marked the second year in a row for a substantial reduction in fire loss. Larrabee's tenure as chief spanned only three years and three months. He retired from the West Palm Beach

Assistant Chief $3,840 Captain $3,300 Driver $3,000 Fireman $2,700 Inspector/Clerk $3,300 In 1951 the National Board of Fire Underwriters came to inspect the West Palm Beach Fire Department. It was the first such inspection since 1935. The inspectors would find little had changed in sixteen years. 1952 The National Board of Fire Underwriters report caused quite a stir when it was received in January of 1952. The inspectors recommended in part: 5. Installation of additional hydrants so that

Fire Department on October 19, 1952. Larrabee was honored at a Women's Auxiliary dinner where he was presented with a red fireman's shirt. He promptly donned the sport shirt and proudly posed for pictures. Mayor Elmo Robinson awarded him a gold watch from the city. Chief Larrabee may have retired from the West Palm Beach Fire De- partment, but he did not leave the fire service. He accepted the posi- tion of Fire General of the Panama Canal Zone Fire Department as a civilian employee of the United States Army. He later returned to the states, taking a job as supervisor of the Ft. Pierce Fire Department maintenance shop, once again doing what he liked the most. Ray Larrabee finally succumbed to the aging process; not physically, but by a slow erosion of his mental faculties. He was placed in a nurs- ing home where he became a favor-

there will be one hydrant for each 110,000 square feet in residential sections with closer spacing in mercantile sections. 7. Appointment of sufficient company officers in the Fire Dept. so that there will be one on duty with each company at all times. 8. Retirement of company offi- cers at the age of 62. 9. An engine company in a new station in the vicinity of Tama- rind Avenue and 23rd Street. 10. An engine company in a new station in the vicinity of Lake Avenue and M Street. 11. A second engine company in Headquarters. 12. A ladder company with Engine Company 3. 13. Eventually, a ladder com- pany with the recommended engine company at Lake and M Street.

J. H. Witherspoon, Chief 1952-62

ite of the staff, although he tried their patience by taking apart everything within reach to see how it worked. Care had to be taken to ensure that no tools were in his posses- sion. Years later Chief Bennett T. Kennedy visited Larra- bee at the nursing home to make a special presentation to the former chief. The old mechanic showed no recogni- tion of his long time colleague, but when the presentation of a fire chief's helmet was made, his eyes gleamed. "Tears welled in my eyes," Kennedy recalled, as he watched the joy on the childish face of this wonderful man who had given so much to his lifetime profession.

14. Appointment of additional members so that there will be seven men on duty with the exist- ing engine and ladder companies, six with the recommended ladder companies, and five with the recommended engine companies. 15. Development of a complete training pro- gram under the supervision of a competent offi- cer. 16. Provision of properly equipped repair shop for fire apparatus. 17. Quarterly inspection of all buildings, except

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