Frank’s note: This story was written by Bill in 1984 when he was a Pilot on Fireboat 2, “The Ralph J. Scott.” It is part of the new exhibit funded by the Port of Los Angeles through a grant in the LAFDHS Harbor Fire Museum titled “The History and Evolution of Fireboats in the Port of Los Angeles.” This visual interactive exhibit opens this month. Part II of Bill’s story will continue in the August Grapevine.
Bill, now retired, volunteers his time supervising the restoration of Old Fireboat 2 on the dock in San Pedro next to Fire Station 112. The work is done by volunteers and the funds are from donations.
Introduction
One of the largest and most successful man-made harbors in the world, the Port of Los Angeles recently celebrated its 75th anniversary. With 28 miles of waterfront, this dynamic center of the Southern California economy is still growing and changing to meet the challenges of the coming century.
Today, the harbor is ringed by six land-side fire stations, two fireboat stations, and two combination land and boat stations. There are 68 firefighters on duty on each 24 hour shift to respond to port emergencies. There is a fleet of two large fireboats and three smaller fire/rescue boats to protect waterfront facilities. Specialized foam apparatus are positioned strategically at various harbor stations. It has been a long struggle achieving the high level of fire protection we now enjoy, and this is the story of how it occurred.
The Beginning
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo gets credit for starting it all with his discovery of the swampy marshland he called the “Bay of Smokes” in 1542. This indentation in the California coast drew other explorers and by 1781, when the pueblo of Los Angeles was founded, San Pedro Bay was well recognized as a Spanish trading port.
The first of the Yankee trading ships showed up in 1805 and by 1850, when the City of Los Angeles was incorporated, cargo was moving between San Pedro and Los Angeles by ox-cart on a regular basis. With the founding of New San Pedro (Wilmington) by Phineas Banning in 1857, the rough-cut “Port of Los Angeles” was becoming clearly discernable.
The Early Days
It is difficult to determine exactly how or when fire fighting began in the harbor, but it is safe to say that “bucket brigades” provided the first means of extinguishing unwanted waterfront fire. Wooden ships, wooden wharves, lumber storage and cargoes of hides, tallow and other combustibles must have provided some serious fire situations on occasion. One of the first recorded maritime disasters was the explosion of the steamer “Ada Hancock” April 27, 1863, killing 26 passengers and injuring 26 including Banning and his wife.
A conflagration destroyed part of Front Street San Pedro in 1888. This contributed to the formation of the organized San Pedro Volunteer Fire Department in 1895 with 65 members divided into five companies. The hand powered apparatus included three hose companies, ahook and ladder and one chemical engine. Wilmington had its own volunteer department. In addition, many of the large corporations owning wharves had firefighting apparatus of their own to assist the volunteers.
The Century Turns
Construction of the great Federal breakwater began in 1899 and this had a dramatic effect on port activities. The population of San Pedro doubled to 6000 between 1902 and 1905. The Main Channel was dredged to a minus 18 feet, permitting cargo ships to penetrate deep into the inner harbor. Los Angeles annexed a strip of land a mile wide and 16 miles long in its march to the sea and established a community called Harbor City.
That the local people were pleased with their volunteers is quite evident as a 1905 souvenir booklet pointed out, “But the fact that the department is one of the most complete organizations of the kind on the coast and the men among the most efficient in their line of duty is the secret that saves money for the insurance companies and makes San Pedro so proud of her Fire Department.” It was not an altogether accurate assessment of conditions however. Although they probably did not realize it, the days of the volunteers were numbered.
The “City” Takes Over
August 28, 1909, the City of Los Angeles annexed the communities of San Pedro, Wilmington and East San Pedro (Terminal Island) inheriting a minimum of land based fire protection, all hand drawn, and eight miles of waterfront hazards with no fireboat protection.
Even though the LAFD was a paid department, the volunteers did not ‘disappear overnight and continued to serve the harbor communities until the early Twenties. John C. Baly, the chief of the San Pedro volunteers, became a captain on our department and some years later would return to the harbor as a Battalion Chief.
Chief Engineer Walter Lips visited the harbor and immediately recommended acquiring a fireboat capable of throwing 6 four-inch streams to protect the lumber yards. No action was taken on this proposal however.
The appointment of Archie J. Eley as Chief Engineer in May of 1910 was a turning point in improved fire protection for the harbor. He would lead the port from hand powered to motor powered fire apparatus, without the need for horses, as he began the motorization of the LAFD.
In office only 30 days, his first annual report asked for temporary fire vessels until the City could purchase one of its own. He proposed a “fire service pipeline” equipped with inlets and outlets to be laid from the waterfront to the business district of San Pedro and along the residence front on Terminal Island, so that fireboats could pump saltwater into these mains in case of fire.
We Begin to Move
On Chief Eley’s recommendation, the city soon contracted for the services of two privately owned passenger tugs with some firefighting capability named the “Warrior” and the “Falcon.” They were leased from the Wilmington Transportation Company on a monthly basis. No firefighters were assigned to these vessels, but firefighters from land-based stations went to work aboard them at the scene of fires.
One of the benefits of annexation was the eventual providing of two new motorized fire stations for the harbor area. In San Pedro, Auto Chemical Hose #6 was located in the old city hall on Beacon Street. It would be replaced by Engine 36 in 1915 and later moved to the new city hall on 7th and Harbor Blvd. That same year a frame house was built in Wilmington for an auto chemical hose company. This was replaced in 1918 by Engine 38 located on the same site as new Fire Station 38 is today at 124 East I Street.
During this period harbor development shifted into high gear as the first $3 million general obligation bond was voted for improvements. Main Channel was widened and deepened to minus 30 feet. Southern Pacific built the first major wharf in San Pedro and Los Angeles became the largest lumber importing port by volume in the world.
The Fireboats Appear
There still was a need for a more versatile fire attack from the water side, especially when the Falcon’s services were discontinued in 1915. This prompted the securing of the first city owned fireboat, the “Aeolian” (a low, narrow-beamed, wooden vessel about 20 feet long, built in Seattle in 1916). It had a covered foredeck and an open cockpit aft. With a 60 gallon chemical tank, it had a hose reel on the stern and a small roof ladder on the bow.
When the Warrior’s contract was ended in 1917, a steam pumper was mounted on a barge and the company was attached to Engine 36. At one time a second steamer was added to increase the water output.
Chief Eley continued to crusade for a large capacity city owned fireboat, placing it in the budget each year until 1919 when Fireboat Number 1 was built at a cost of $33,000. Although he had proposed a steel boat of 9000 GPM, the new fireboat was made of wood and pumped about 2000 GPM. It was 65 feet long with a 17-1/2 foot beam, had four gasoline engines and no pilot house. She had three turrets and a large reel of 2-1/2 inch hose which was located near the stern.
Boat 1 was stationed at the foot of First Street in San Pedro. The firefighters lived in tents on the site as a new station was built to house the boat and its crew. In 1924 the ferry crashed into the firehouse and demolished a large portion of the front room. The boat was not damaged.
A Great Leap Forward
The same year that Boat 1 opened on Main Channel, the old Hose Company #5 firehouse on Vernon Avenue (later 46’s site) was moved to 324 Tuna Street on Terminal Island becoming Engine 40. This completed a circle of fire companies around the rapidly expanding port.
The new chief engineer was Ralph J. Scott, a man who would soon come to be known as one of the most progressive fire chiefs in the nation. With World War I behind and the Panama Canal open to shipping, the harbor and the fire department embarked on a period of extensive expansion and prosperity. With Chief Scott’s support, a $2-1/2 million bond issue was passed in 1922 providing for 14 new stations, including three more in the harbor area and a new fireboat.
Engine 48 and Truck 14 opened for business at 16th and Grand in 1924 along with Engine 53 in a remodeled Edison substation at 438 North Mesa. Engine 49 opened in Wilmington near the entrance to Mormon Island. Apparently funds were used up on the new stations and in May of 1924 another $400,000 bond was passed to build the new fireboat and station.
It was the era of large capacity fireboats. Every port city worth its salt wanted a fireboat capable of dealing with the kind of disaster potential encountered in an active harbor. On October 20, 1925, Fireboat Number 2 was launched at L.A. Shipbuilding and Drydock (later Todd Shipyard) at a cost of $214,000. At 99 feet and 13,500 GPM, she was a beautifully engineered wrought steel, gasoline powered vessel. With five large turrets and up to a 6 inch tip, she had six pumps, three propellers, nine engines and a 44 foot high elevating turret, the first of its kind in the nation.
In the spring of 1926, finishing touches were put to a magnificent boat house and fire station to accommodate the new seagoing super-pumper. Located at Berth 226-227 on Terminal Island, it occupied a strategic position near the geographical center of the harbor. The hose tower was topped with an elegant cupola which allowed excellent visibility all over the harbor.
May 2, 1927, Fireboat 1 was relocated to a new station in Fish Harbor where it eventually had a pilot house installed. This left Boat 2 to protect the full length of Main Channel and it was felt that a smaller, faster vessel was needed for some types of emergencies. Built at a cost of $10,000, Fireboat Number 3 was commissioned March 13, 1928. It was a 38 foot wooden launch with a 10 foot beam and had a single 275 hp engine which drove both the propeller and a 290 GPM pump. With a crew of two, it was moored outside on the north side of Boat 2’s quarters.
Part II of Bill’s story will continue in the August Grapevine