WPBFD History

tion, Inc. Dr. Ray Stephenson, a local chiropractor, wrote to City Attorney Grover Herring on January 11, 1962, explaining that his daugh- ter and son-in-law had opened a fire extinguisher re-servicing business. The new enterprise was unable to solicit business because everyone told them the fire department han- dled the extinguishers. By March 1 the story was being carried in the local newspapers. Chief Witherspoon tried to set things straight with a press release that read in part: First, publicity indicated that the West Palm Beach Fire- men's Benevolent Association was operating unauthorized. This operation has been author- ized for some 38 years and was operated, we assume, with the full knowledge of city officials. . . . The City of West Palm Beach fire trucks have not been used for the past 4 years in

dispatchers were constantly both- ered with nuisance calls and only a small number of actual fires were ever reported on the call boxes. In the mid-1970s the system was dis- mantled. The West Palm Beach Fire- men's Relief and Pension Fund was amended on July 13, 1961. One of the eight sources of revenue for the pension had been by "The sale of any equipment of the Fire Depart- ment which cannot be used to ad- vantage of the City." The amend- ment repealed this section. The value of sprinkler sys- tems was proved in West Palm Beach on the night of September 25, 1961. A fire that originated in a trash can at the Fashion Fabrics Store, 2014 South Dixie Highway, was quickly extinguished by the activation of two sprinkler heads. The highly combustible contents of fabrics in the store would have suf- fered extensive damage had it not been for the automatic system. Fire damage, as a result, was negligible.

Call box maintenance in the 1960s. Austin Bennett painting the pole.

connection with this service. The members of the West Palm Beach Fire- mens' Benevolent Association have been charg- ing the fire extinguishers that they are equipped to service for all of the City of West Palm Beach buildings and furnishing the material without any charge to the City of West Palm Beach. A question was raised in a former news story concerning the cost of the material used to re- charge fire extinguishers. To set the records straight the West Palm Beach Firemens' Be- nevolent Association has paid for all of the ma- terial used by them to recharge fire extinguish- ers. This included those of the City of West Palm Beach. When this service was started in 1924, by the firemen, the charge for servicing a soda and acid extinguisher was $1.00, now it is $1.25, for foam type extinguisher it was $2.00, now it is $2.25, any variation from this price has been for parts. . . . There were several things that Chief Witherspoon left out. Profits from the extinguisher service had been used to send flowers on behalf of the department, promote

Being a coastal community, West Palm Beach faced many boating related emergencies over the years. Early on the morning of November 11, 1961, the thirty foot long Mermaid headed out of Spencer's Boat Dock on a fishing trip with a party of eight. A hundred yards from shore the boat exploded, flashing a wall of flame from bow to stern. Witnesses observed people on-board diving into the waters of Lake Worth to escape the fire. All eight passengers were seriously burned, but amazingly no fa- talities resulted. The cause was a common one for boats; fumes in the engine compartment ignited. On December 16, 1961, three stations were dis- patched to a reported fire in Babcock's Bargain Annex located at 509-511 Clematis Street. The fire had a head start before fire units arrived and it was more than an hour before firefighters were able to control the blaze. The building contained new and used furniture which was completely destroyed. A major problem was the stacks of mattresses that prevented direct access to the seat of the fire. 1962 A public controversy arose after a letter from a citi- zen questioned the practice of refilling fire extinguishers by the West Palm Beach Firemen's Benevolent Associa-

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