WPBFD History

CHAPTER NINE The Department Grows 1954 to 1962 One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea. Walter Bagehot

knowing that a position might soon open. Kitzinger's po- sition was upgraded in 1958 to Fire Marshall and one new fire inspector position was created at that time. Kitzinger had been eager to move up through the ranks, but rules required that all personnel promoted to officer had to first attain driver/engineer status. Regretta- bly, the aspiring Kitzinger had a total lack of coordination behind the wheel of a fire truck. After passing the written portion of the driver/engineer test, he was allowed to coast a truck down hill for the practical performance part of the test. The drill instructor was afraid that the costly apparatus might be damaged if driven by Kitzinger. Creation of the fire inspector position was the perfect op- portunity for the fire chief to allow Kitzinger to bypass the driver/engineer position and move into one for which he was better suited. The old wood "Fire College" training tower on 1st Street was condemned and torn down in 1954. A new four-story CBS drill tower was erected in Howard Park near Caroline and the Seaboard Railroad. The improved facility was equipped with a standpipe and sprinkler sys- tem for training purposes. The first floor served as a

1954 Chief Witherspoon instituted a new training pro- gram on January 15, 1954. Directive No. 125 read in part: Starting Tuesday, January 19, 1954, practice drill will be held on the fire department drill ground at Howard Park from 8:00 A.M. to 12:00 Noon each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of each week, weather permitting. These drills will be held immediately follow- ing a regular 24-hour tour of duty. Men will report in work uniform. The Assistant Chief of each platoon will be in charge and will make any change that might be necessary in this schedule. J.H. Witherspoon Chief Fire Dept. The recently instituted three-platoon system worked out to a fifty-six hour work week. The extra weekly drill

small classroom for new recruits. Pavement surrounded the building so that apparatus could be driven and operated in simulated pumping exercises. The grounds also had a drafting pit, a burn building, and two functioning fire hydrants. Veteran Captain Cecil Hull, affec- tionately called "Pop", retired from the department on August 15, 1954.

provided four additional hours to make a sixty hour work-week for the firemen. Anyone missing a drill had to make it up at a later date. Needless to say, this proved to be quite unpopular with the men, most of whom had off-duty jobs. Fran- ces Miller, one time president of Local 727, commented on the re- quired drill by saying, "We weren't happy, but it was one of the things back then. Didn't lose no sleep over it." The National Board of Fire Underwriters, which set fire insur- ance rates for cities across the na- tion, had been critical of West Palm Beach for not establishing a fire prevention division to handle in- spections and code enforcement. In 1954 the Fire Prevention Bureau was formed with W. A. Kitzinger

He was the only man still on the department who had responded to the Breakers fire in 1925. Hull spent thirty-three years serving the city as a paid fireman and several years before that as a volunteer. When asked what he planned to do, Hull said he was going to look for a job. "I'll have to make a living, and I can't make it on retirement pay. As a matter of fact, it's tough going in the fire department on regular duty." Fellow firemen called the aged driver "prune face" behind his back. One day Cy Reeves made the mistake of

Elevated rescue at the new Training Tower.

appointed as Fire Inspector. Kitzinger had demonstrated an administrative aptitude as a firefighter and had taken a number of preparatory courses in the fire prevention field

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