WPBFD History

and social relations among its members, as well as with the general public and public officials. ARTICLE IV This corporation is to exist perpetually. ARTICLE VII

A twelve foot attic ladder was carried aloft and set- up in the basket to per- form the rescue. Another relic of the past was retired in late 1966. The 1926 Ameri- can LaFrance pumper, the oldest truck on the depart- ment, had been in reserve for years. Deputy Chief Hoffman commented, "Sometimes that pumper will start and sometimes it won't." The city had budgeted $29,000 for a new pumper. West Palm Beach firemen formed a new organization in 1966. The Fraternal Order of Firemen Grand Lodge, Inc., was issued a Certifi- cate of Incorporation by

The names of the persons who are to serve as officers of the corporation for the first year are as follows: C.L. Smith PRESIDENT T. P. Kavanaugh VICE PRES W. A. Kitzinger SECRETARY B. P. Hundemann TREASURER J. B. Calvitt CONDUCTOR J. M. Sloan, Jr. TRUSTEE (3 yr) C. S. Adair TRUSTEE (2 yr) H. J. Buttery TRUSTEE (1 yr) The F. O. F. began with 49 charter members. Plans were made to build a meeting hall on a piece of land that had been leased from the City of West Palm Beach. The site was located on Tuxedo Avenue, in a small commer- cial area near the airport.

the State of Florida on December 13. This was the first fraternal order registered in the state for firefighters and all future requests to form such an organization would have to be filed under the grand lodge. Some of the Articles of Incorporation were: ARTICLE II The general natures of the objects and pur-

The Snorkel fully extended with twelve foot attic ladder in basket.

poses of this cor- poration shall be: the welfare and conduct of its members; the regulation and adjustment of matters pertaining to and affecting its members; the pro- motion of fire safety; the promo- tion of efficiency in the fire service; and the promotion of confidence, cooperation, har- mony, friendly

Funding problems for the project arose almost as soon as construction got under way and the building never got higher than four courses of block before work stopped. 1967 January 1, 1967, marked the end of a ca- reer that had begun in 1923. The administra- tive officer, William H. “Bill” Lingenfelter, re-

Hose drill at the Training Facility in the 1960s.

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