Our Historical Society was very fortunate to obtain the Hayes aerial ladder truck from the city operated Travel Town prior to opening the Hollywood Museum in October of 2001. The restoration of the truck has not been scheduled yet. There is a lot of wood and some metal to work on including the ladders and equipment. This truck was one of the first aerial ladders in the country. This is the story of the truck. FWB
The Travel Town Story
The staff of Travel Town had stared long enough at a building full of antique Los Angeles Fire Department apparatus; so in late 1987 we began seriously researching the equipment’s history, with an eye towards putting together an exciting exhibit on the LAFD. Our first step was to ask some LAFD historians to survey our collection and give us the groundwork from which to begin. What those gentlemen told us was a pleasant surprise: all Travel Town’s fire apparatus are important pieces, and the “big lumbering, horsedrawn thing,” previously of unknown origin, is the most significant piece of all. “It’s a Hayes aerial,” we were told. “It was the first successful aerial hook and ladder truck invented – only three were thought to exist – it could be the truck bought in the 1880’s for the L.A. Volunteer Fire Department!”
This truck had sat anonymously at Travel Town for 30 years, waiting, like the fairy-tale frog prince, for its true identity to be revealed. The task ahead of us was to discover the history of the truck, and the reasons for its importance, and to share that with Travel Town’s visitors. Handicapped by the lack of records on where the truck came from or when it was donated to Travel Town, we had no choice but to begin at the beginning in our research – with the inventor of the truck himself, Daniel D. Hayes.
In 1866, the Amoskeag Company of Manchester, New Hampshire, received an order for five steam-powered fire pumpers from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Daniel D. Hayes, a native New Yorker with experience as a volunteer firefighter, was working as a machinist for Amoskeag at the time. He was selected to deliver the steam pumpers and to train San Francisco firefighters in the operation and maintenance of the equipment. This training period lasted several months, and when Hayes was ready to return to New Hampshire, the San Francisco Fire Department offered him the position of Superintendent of Steamers. In December of 1866, he accepted the position and began a 14-year career with the S.F.F.D.
Note: We have the first steamer purchased by the new LAFD in1886 and it is an Amoskeag on display along with the Hayes aerial in the Hollywood Museum. It is known as the Kurtz steamer. All the LAFD antique vehicles from Travel Town are in the museum or in storage. FWB
Hayes and his fellow big-city firefighters were faced with a particular challenge: some of the most damaging fires experienced in American cities in the mid-1800’s were in multi-story buildings. For many years inventors had tried to develop a hook and ladder truck that would effectively reach the upper levels of contemporary buildings, but initial attempts at aerial ladder trucks were often disastrous. Too heavy or too unstable, these horsedrawn trucks were either unable to reach fires in a timely manner or did not function well at the scene of a fire. In several cases, these early models cost the lives of firefighters who scaled their unsafe ladders. Then, in 1868, Daniel Hayes developed a truck with an aerial ladder that could extend as much as 85 feet in height. Four to six men could fully raise the telescopic ladder in less than 40 seconds by turning a crank. The aerial was mounted on a turntable, so the ladder could be swung around to the desired direction. Hayes had designed, and then built himself, the first practical and safe horsedrawn aerial ladder truck. The truck was named after its inventor: the Hayes Extension Hook and Ladder Truck and Fire Escape.
Hayes sold his first truck to the S.F.F.D. a year later, in 1869 for $3,000. But Chief Whitney, of the S.F.F.D., was skeptical as to the effectiveness of the truck and refused to use it in actual service. His was a typical sentiment; after a disaster in New York where several firefighters were killed in a demonstration of an aerial hook and ladder truck, few chiefs were willing to risk lives on an unknown truck. It wasn’t until Independence Day, 1871, that Hayes was able to prove the value of his invention.
A local fire department was a popular entry in any civic parade, and the San Francisco Fire Department brought out a full contingent of equipment, including the Hayes Aerial, for July 4th, 1871 celebrations. During the parade, a fire alarm was sounded from Box 17. According to one version of the story, Hayes saw this as the opportunity to prove the worth of his aerial hook and ladder truck. He jumped into the driver’s seat, raced the horses to the burning multi-story building, and proceeded to operate the aerial ladder with great proficiency. So effective and dramatic was his display that the department was finally convinced that the Hayes aerial hook and ladder could serve the S.F.F.D. well. A less dramatic, but probably more accurate, account claims that a new S.F.F.D. fire chief decided to use the Hayes truck simply because it was already out of the station to be in the parade. This fire chief found the innovative aerial hook and ladder very useful in fighting the blaze and was willing to allow it into regular service.
Using local manufactures, Hayes produced trucks for sale to the S.F.F.D. and other West Coast fire departments. But demand increased as word of the practicality and reliability of Hayes’ aerial ladder truck design spread across the U.S. In 1884, Hayes sold his patent to the New York-based LaFrance Company (soon to become American La-France). A number of sizes were developed to meet the distinctive needs of various cities’ fire departments; models ranged from a “first class” truck with an 85 foot extension ladder to the small “fourth class” truck featuring a 40 or 45 foot extension ladder. Hayes also continued to build trucks in his own shop in Oakland. By the early years of the 20th century, when new advancements in technology made the original Hayes aerial design obsolete, more than 20 Hayes-design trucks had been sold.
Note: Sometime back the Hayes family visited the museum to see what their relative Daniel had invented over 100 years ago. FWB
Daniel Hayes Proposes His Truck to the LAFD
The lengthy process of purchasing the Los Angeles Volunteer Fire Department’s Hayes aerial was recorded in painstaking longhand in the minutes of various Los Angeles City Council meetings. On January 28, 1884, Daniel D. Hayes’ proposal for the manufacture of a 2nd class Hayes Hook and Ladder Truck was read into the minutes of the City Council.
The following proposal was opened and read:
We hereby propose and agree to manufacture for your city, and ship the same within sixty days after receipt of your acceptance of this proposition one 2nd Class Hayes Extension Ladder Truck and Fire Escape said Fire Truck to be built in accordance with the following specifications as regards equipment dimensions, material, finish, etc. to wit:
It shall carry ladders of the following dimensions, vis.
• One Hayes Patent Extension Ladder to elevate sixty five feet from the ground, the main ladder in which shall be 34 feet long, and the extension 32 feet long.
• One ladder 28 ft.
• One ladder 26 ft.
• One ladder 24 ft.
• One ladder 18 ft.
• One ladder 16 ft. (roof)
The 28, 26 and 24 ft. ladders shall be carried on rollers and the 28 and 22 ft. ladders to be arranged for splicing, making a ladder 46 ft. long and the 20, 18, and 16 to “nest in.” The Truck shall be supplied with the following appliances, to wit,
• 2 short handled hooks
• 2 long handled hooks
• 1 chair hook
• 2 crouch poles
• 2 steel crow bars
• 4 fire axes (with Pipe heads)
• 4 pitch forks
• 4 leather fire buckets
• 175 ft. of Manila Rope with tackle and swatch block for hoisting hose
• 1 oil can
• 2 brass hand lanterns
• 1 bell or gong
• All necessary wrenches, spanners and tools for working the truck will also be supplied. The “Leaders” of the frame and ladders shall be built of best quality Oregon Pine, free from knots.
The Truck shall be mounted on Platform Sprints over forward axle, and two full elliptic springs over hind axle made of best quality spring steel, the running gear, braces, rods, and etc. to be carefully forged from the best quality of Norway and Ulster iron. The axles to be made of best quality of Ulster iron. The wheels to be made of selected and seasoned timber and tired with the best quality of Tire Iron. Hind wheels four feet in diameter; to have brass caps over the ends of hubs, and to be handsomely painted and striped with gold leaf. The brake lever shall be arranged to be operated by driver’s foot, and the hind gear operated by hand wheel Tiller, horse tongue, and whiffle trees, to be made of seasoned second growth ash or hickory and handsomely painted and striped with gold leaf. The Truck complete shall be built in a substantial and workmanlike manner, be handsomely painted and ornamented with gold striping and scroll work with name and etc. as ordered.
It shall be delivered within the time hereintofore specified at Los Angeles, Cal. for the sum of twenty seven hundred and fifty dollars.
Yours Truly
D.D. Hayes
P.S. Or will deliver at San Pedro for twenty five hundred and fifty dollars, and at San Francisco for twenty five hundred dollars.
The proposal was accepted, and on June 2, 1884, the truck was delivered to and accepted by the City Council.
Note: Our LAFD aerial ladder trucks today cost $1million. FWB
Submitted by Frank Borden
B says
My 6 year old son is to present to his class about an inventor of his choosing. He wants to present on Hayes and his fire truck, specifically the extendable ladder. This is super helpful. Thanks!!