WPBFD History

heart of downtown since the 1930 McGinley Building fire occurred at noon on Tuesday, August 2, 1960. Ironically the fire occurred in the same structure at 340 Clematis Street. Dense clouds of black and yellow smoke were pouring from the two story building occupied by Baker’s Shoe Store as Company 1-A responded from Central Sta- tion on that hot afternoon. Mutual aid was quickly re- quested from Palm Beach and other departments. The first lines were stretched to the rear of the build- ing and proved effective in knocking down most of the fire, but drop ceilings hampered extinguishment. Royal B. Tuten, operating the cellar nozzle on the roof, recalled, "It was just very stubborn, we couldn't get water to it." Eventually the fire vented through the roof. Truck 42, the 1948 Maxim Ladder Truck, was positioned on South Dixie with Brian Tucker at the top directing water into the vented roof. Palm Beach's aerial set up on Clematis Street. Hose lines were then repositioned on ad- jacent roof tops to supplement streams from the ground and ladder trucks. An eighteen-inch thick firewall pre- vented the fire from extending eastward into the common attic of other buildings. Without the firewall, the entire block of businesses might have been lost. Several firemen were overcome by smoke on the roof. Some of the injured were transferred across the roofs of four buildings, lowered through a skylight of Lerner's, and carried to waiting ambulances. Firefighter Palmlee Howe was in the worst condition after being pulled from the parapet wall of McCrory's by Robert Milkins. Howe had passed-out but could not be evacu- ated because of his position. While waiting for medical help, he was given oxygen with the Emerson Resuscita- tor. An urgent request went out for a doctor to give treat- ment. The first doctor to arrive was sixty years old and fire officials were concerned about his climbing the sev- enty-five foot aerial ladder to get to Howe. Police Chief William Barnes, at the suggestion of a newspaper re- porter, sent an officer to a Rotary Club meeting at the George Washington Hotel in search of another doctor. He returned with two doctors who climbed the ladder and treated the injured firefighter. Howe was later admitted to Good Samaritan Hospital in serious condition. He recov- ered and returned to his duties as a firefighter. Sixty-five West Palm Beach personnel (including a few retirees) and eight Palm Beach firemen fought the stubborn blaze in ninety degree plus weather for over four hours. Hundreds of onlookers had crowded the streets during the height of the fire. With business at a standstill in the downtown area, one storefront displayed a hastily written sign, "Store closed while employees watch fire." It was a tired bunch of firefighters who began rolling up the hose at 4:00 that afternoon, but they had to be pre- pared for the next alarm. Cause of the fire was determined

Despite being in a densely built-up area near down- town, firemen were able to control the blaze and prevent extension to other nearby structures. By 3:10 a.m. fire- men had made their way into the third floor to mop-up. An estimated 480,000 gallons of water were pumped into the flames through more than a mile of 2 1/2 inch hose. Frank Cote, a young observer of the fire ground action, would later join the department. Seven West Palm Beach firemen received injuries during operations. Dr. O. L. Jones treated the most serious injuries on the scene, but none required hospitalization. One occupant of the hotel was taken to the hospital for observation of a heart condition. The last company cleared the scene at 11:00 the next morning. Investigators attributed the cause of the fire to an electrical short. The hotel, owned by Morris and Leo Schwack, suffered a $61,000 loss. Six new positions were added to the department in the fall of 1959. This brought the number of personnel to seventy-three. The new men were given two weeks of training under the direction of Captain R. E. Milkins. City Manager Mott visited the men during the training period to welcome them and wish them success in their new profession. Among the new recruits assigned to sta- tions on December 14, were Palmlee N. Howe who would later become chief of training and Royal Bruce Tuten who would attain the rank of captain. In the late 1950s the department issued work uni- forms of a sort; chambray shirts and blue-jean pants. Each new fireman was taken down to Montgomery Wards to be outfitted with two sets. Each year they received two new sets of uniforms. The annual report for fiscal year 1958-59 indicated that the department responded to 504 alarms of which 306 were fires. There was one fire death for the year. Witherspoon asked for the fire alarm call box system that had been requested for thirty years, even though the pro- liferation of telephones made the utility of such a system questionable. He remarked that the expansion of the city westward would require another station with a pumper and a ladder company. 1960 Work began on the conversion of the old high pres- sure fire system in 1960. This included the installation of new pumps at the water plant, cleaning the high pressure mains, installation of a main to supply fresh water to the old salt water system, and the installation of check valves to prevent contamination of the potable water system from the high pressure mains. The old pumping equip- ment on Lake Worth, no longer needed, was dismantled in 1964. The most potentially dangerous fire to strike the

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