WPBFD History

The second crash was a B-25 bomber that fell into Belvedere Homes north of the field. The pilot was praised for banking the huge plane at the last moment to avoid hitting houses in the residential neighborhood. West Palm Beach firemen again assisted Air Force emer- gency units. The third occurred on August 22, 1956, when a giant Douglas C-124 Globemaster was attempting an emer- gency landing at Morrison Field. The largest Air Force transport in use at the time made a last second turn to avoid coming down in a populated area. It fell short of the runway and crashed into the Island Landscape Nurs- ery at the west end of Bignonia Street at 6:10 p.m. A dense cloud of smoke was visible for miles as units from West Palm Beach, the air base, and several volunteer departments responded to the emergency. The site was not easily accessible and one Air Force truck be- came mired as it tried to reach the flaming wreckage. West Palm Beach's Pumper 36, pumping from the hydrant at Kaye Street and Parker Avenue, supplied most of the water used in extinguishment. Driver/Engineer Bennett T. Kennedy pumped at high pressure for an extended period fearing the entire time that the hose lines would break. "I pumped every drop of water that went on that fire," re- called Kennedy. "It got to the point with the ground rules where we just threw them out."

state of training made possible by the appointment of a full time instructor. Milkins would go on to teach not only the West Palm Beach firefighters, but those from around the area who registered in the Fire Science pro- gram at Palm Beach Junior College. Morrison Field, now Palm Beach International Air- port, was reactivated as the Palm Beach Air Force Base in the early 1950s when hostilities erupted in Korea. Colo- nel Fred O. Easley was assigned base commander. He would later become city commissioner and eventually mayor of West Palm Beach. Increased air traffic posed new problems for the fire department. During 1956 there would be three airplane crashes in close proximity to the air base. The first was a huge Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter that went down west of the runway at 4:35 p.m. on Tues- day, February 21, 1956. The left inboard engine was aflame as it approached the northwest runway. The "Flying Tanker" fell short, clipping a power pole before it dug into the ground north of Belvedere Road. The plane exploded leaving a trail of burning wreckage for more than three hundred yards. Several units from West Palm Beach responded to assist Air Force equipment on the scene. City firemen were credited with saving a number of houses that were threatened by a grass fire. Five air- men lost their lives on the tragic training flight.

Globemaster crash in West Palm Beach during attempted landing. 7