THE MENS LONG HAIR CLUB, 74’S STYLE
FS 74, located in Tujunga, also known as The Rock, is located at the far edge of the city. It was, and to some extent it still is, a rural neighborhood.
Tujunga drew a mixed crowd, from people who wanted to experience rural living, to motorcycle gangs like the Hells Angels.
Some of the guys who worked at 74’s had been sent there because they were out of sight and out of mind of the administration.
Others worked there because they promoted into a vacancy and they stayed there only until they could transfer out.
“Tiny” Orcutt was one of the people who wanted to work there. He was reputed to belong to an unknown motorcycle gang. Bikers, then and now, maintained a certain image so they would be recognizable. The 1% percenters.
One of the ways they did this was to have long hair. Having long hair is not allowed by the LAFD and it was pretty obvious that your hair was too long when it was over your collar, never mind down to your shoulders.
“Tiny” was a captain’s nightmare and a rebel of sorts. He figured out a way to roll his hair on top of his head and hold it in place with lots of hairspray. To top this off he would wear a Navy watch cap, which guaranteed the hair would not be noticed. Apparently, it worked very well. In the morning he would take his hair down and ride his motorcycle home. He did this for several years.
In the late 1970‘s RA74 became a Paramedic rescue and one of the paramedics was Danny “The Rat” Cypert. Danny watched Tiny roll his hair up and was intrigued by what he saw. Eventually he became a member of the Long Hair Club.
There were at least two other people who also worked there and had long hair, but their names are lost to history.
“Tiny” and Danny are no longer with us and the others have long since retired.
FS34 AND THE PLAYMATE OF THE MONTH
For reasons of privacy there will be no names mentioned in this story. The lady who was involved is possibly a grandmother now and I have no intention of embarrassing her or her family. Don’t even ask.
One of the Paramedics who worked at 34’s had a sister who had both recently been a centerfold. Needless to say, she was very attractive.
One day, she, and a few of her girlfriends came by the station to visit her brother. Needless to say, guys being guys, pandemonium broke out.
I’m sure it was one of the highlights of their careers.
THE SWIMMING POOL AT OLD 26’S
Old 26’s was located on Washington Bl., west of Western. It was a two-story building of brick construction, probably built in the 1920’s. It had a handball court, also constructed of brick.
One warm summer day the guys decided it would be nice to have a pool so they could cool off. So they built one.
They put salvage covers on the floor of the court. They attached them a couple of feet up the walls and began to fill it with water.
Because the walls were unreinforced masonry the walls began to bow out from the water pressure.
Fortunately, someone noticed this and drained the “pool” before the building was damaged.
Just a fun fact: The sign that hung on the front of the building that told the world that this was Fire Station 26 was rescued from the building and, the last time I saw it, the crew had hung it in the kitchen at the current FS26.
I can’t prove that Jesse Pasos invented the first TV remote control in the kitchen of 26’s, but the first time I ever saw Jesse he was in the TV chairs with several broom handles taped together and attached to the channel selector switch. They were suspended by salvage cord, from the ceiling, so that you could sit in the back row and change the channels.
OLD LAFD PHOTOS
Most of you, at least the ones under 35, have grown up using computers and electronic gadgets of all kinds so what I am going to say is nothing new to you.
To the older guys, the 50 and up crowd, the photos that I post each month are available to you on your computers simply for the asking.
Just shoot me an email telling me which photos you are interested in. There is no limit on them, you can request as many as you would like.
Because they have been digitized the quality of the photo is almost identical to the original.
If you want to have a print made just drag the photo in the email onto a USB drive and take it to a photo shop where they will make a print for you, any size you want.
One retired member knew that one of the photos I had was of old FS69 where his father worked, and that photo meant a lot to him. He requested a copy for the memories it held.
These photos are a window into the LAFD from many years ago. Some of the places and things shown in the photos still exist. Most don’t.
I would always tell the EMT classes I taught that the two most important classes you will ever take are history and geography.
History will tell you where you came from and how you got to where you are now.
Geography will tell you where you are and show you how to get to where you want to go.
That is why these photos have a special meaning to me and I’m trying to pass that on to you. My email is at the end of each article and I would like to hear from you.