WPBFD History

small number of fire- fighters. Most of those were happy to keep a low profile and get a trim when their company officer would say some- thing about their hair. Firefighter Gary Moore was one who didn't like the restrictions and de- cided to test the system. He was eventually given time off for violating the hair length rule. Moore appealed the disciplinary

local bill that would have allowed collective bargaining. The bill, which had passed both the house and senate, was nixed by Kirk be- cause he felt it would encourage strikes, al- though a similar bill had been in effect for sev- eral years in Dade and Broward County. Local firefighters were in- censed that the governor refused to allow them

Fire Station 5, 500 North Congress Avenue.

action and the case went to court in 1973. Chief Sloan and Deputy Chief Hoffman had retired by then, so Chief Bennett T. Kennedy took the stand to represent the de- partment in defense of the suspension. Gary Moore won the suit and the grooming rule was rescinded on July 26, 1973. Moore quit the fire department shortly thereafter to go into the construction business. The State of Florida passed the first minimum stan- dards for firefighters in 1969 which became effective on July 1, 1970. All firefighters employed by a fire depart- ment at that time were "grandfathered in." Future fire- fighters would be required to meet certain standards after completion of 160 hours of training by a certified instruc- tor. The training requirement was later extended to 200 hours. As the summer of 1970 heated-up, some minor inci- dents flared on the west side of town. Juveniles who had started fires in trash bins began to pelt firefighters with rocks and bottles. Police made one arrest and beefed-up patrols in the troubled neighborhoods.

the same opportunity for negotiation. They vowed not to let the matter drop and to retaliate against the popular governor at the polls. Chief Sloan was not about to allow the men of his department to look like the "flower children" of the era. Several of the younger firemen were showing up for work with hair that was over their ears and hung over the back of their shirt collars. A new rule was instituted on June 29, 1970, to put a stop to such nonsense. The rule was extremely explicit about the proper length of hair, mus- taches, and sideburns. It also prohibited any facial hair other than the pencil thin "Hoffman mustache" as sported by Deputy Chief Hoffman at the time. The controversial rule made the newspapers a week before it was formally instituted. A Palm Beach Post arti- cle said that some men were ready to quit before giving in to the new policy. Chief Sloan was reluctant to comment, but did say, "Some people have childish ideas and need a picture to be drawn before they understand." His com- ments only fanned the flames of discontent in the ranks. According to Sloan,

A fire of unknown origin damaged the basement of the First Unitarian Church on August 1, 1970. The house of worship, located at 601 Hibiscus Street, sus- tained severe structural damage. Part of the hollow tile church had to be demol- ished and rebuilt before re- opening for services. Firefighters were preparing breakfast on Sunday, Au- gust 2, 1970, when the alarm reported a fire at May's Food Center on Northwood Avenue. Com- pany 3 Captain Elmer New-

the final draft of the groom- ing standards were changed to allow for longer side- burns and hair, but many firefighters still considered it overly restrictive. An unidentified fireman voiced his concerns by saying, "If we have to be told how long or which way our hair can be, in no time at all we will be told what type of car to drive and which brand of toothpaste to use." The new grooming standards only affected a

Heavy smoke coming from the front of Mays as crowd gathers.

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