Topic: History

On behalf of the Board of Directors, Officers, and Volunteers of the LAFD Historical Society, we'd like to wish you and your family a prosperous and safe 2010.

You are invited to visit either of our museums (Hollywood and the LA Harbor), and we're eager to have new members, new volunteers, and new sponsors - as there is much work underway. Our memorial plaza, while fully functional, requires ongoing maintenance. The rehabilitation of Old Fireboat #2 in San Pedro is one of our significant priorities for 2010, while the Harbor museum continues to bring in new visitors every weekend.

To set the year off on the right foot, we encourage you to check out the New Year's Greeting from the Los Angeles Fire Department. Featuring a tribute video produced by Cameron and David Barrett in 2005, the message holds true: The LAFD will be there, whenever you need them.

And, from our house to yours, know that the LAFD Museum and Memorial will be there for you as well. We look forward to seeing you in 2010.

Company Response!

When you evaluate all of the various ways in which first responders train today, it's easy to think of the past as a more simple time. Yet, a quick look back reveals that training was as important then as it is today.

The Los Angeles Fire Department has a proud tradition of training its officers and firefighters. Take a look at this training film from the middle of the last century and you'll discover the specific emphasis placed on being safe, and training as if each firefighter's life depended on it. It's really a fine example of LAFD in action.

Captain Steve Ruda was walking along the street, awed by the destruction that lay before him. The disastrous Sayre Fire had blown through the Oakridge Mobile Home Park just one week earlier, destroying more than 500 homes. Now, residents were finally allowed back in, if only temporarily, to sift through the remains of their homes, searching for anything that might be of value.

Ruda, a Captain II with the Los Angeles Fire Department, has years of experience with wildfires, but this was different. “Entire blocks of homes were gone,” he recalled. “It was extremely emotional for our firefighters, as they did everything they could to save these homes.”

Here and there, a gutted car sat in a driveway, the only remaining elements being scorched metal. The only identifiable remains for most homes were mailboxes that tilted at crazy angles next to the street.

Captain Ruda, the Task Force Commander for 27s, was working with his crew to help open safes for homeowners, who would then retrieve the few valuables inside not consumed by the heat and fire.

As Ruda walked along the street, he noticed an older woman, with several young women sifting through rubble, and when they saw him, they motioned for him to come over. As one of Ruda’s roles was to provide support to the homeowners, he strode directly over to them. “I don’t know for sure,” said the older woman, “but this may be of interest to you.”

She offered the Captain a browned, rusted piece of metal. Ruda turned it over and over in his hand. There was a seal on the metal and at first glance, it looked like the seal of the City of Los Angeles. And a word... Fireman. “This looks like an LAFD Firefighter’s badge. A very early one,” Ruda said to the women. The older woman nodded and said, “that badge belonged to my father, George Damron.”

Flash back to 1935. The history books indicate it was a typical southern California Saturday morning on September 7th. Downtown bustled with the many activities of Los Angeles, including the hectic garment district, where clothing and other materials were manufactured. The Mission Painted Fabrics Company was just one of those businesses. A wide array of volatile chemicals were used in the manufacturing process, often in large tanks or vats, to waterproof the often painted fabrics. One of the vats was called, “a dipping tank,” and it was open so canvas or other fabrics could be dipped into it. The vat contained a combination of wax, petroleum oil, gasoline thinner, and paint pigment.

At approximately one quarter past ten o’clock in the morning, the owner of the business, Elliot Theobold and Superintendent, Gordon Gould, were standing near several of these tanks, when they noticed a “flash of fire” just off the ground near the open waterproofing vat. The canvas caught fire and within seconds the vapor in the room ignited, filling the structure with smoke and flames. Lucky to be only slightly burned by the flashover, Theobold rushed to his office and called the fire department. Outside, a passerby also witnessed the fire and pulled three different fire alarm boxes. The initial assignment included Engine Companies 2, 5, and 24. They were joined by Truck Companies 17 and 24, along with Salvage 24. Battalion 7 responded with acting B/C George Dyer.

First in was Engine 2. The crew, headed by Captain Lawrence W. Krumsiek laid several lines in front of the building. Other lines were laid around the two-story structure and entry was made at several locations, nearly simultaneously. Captain Krumsiek and Fireman George Damron entered the structure near the open dipping tank and opened their nozzle, putting water on the fire. Other hose lines were put into operation and within just a few minutes, the fire appeared to be knocked down.

The rapid addition of water from multiple hose lines not only covered the floor, but the open dipping tank’s chemicals had spilled and were swirling around the feet of Krumsiek and Damron. The chemicals in the tank had been pre-heated for their water-proofing purpose, and shortly after the main body of fire was extinguished, a boil over occurred, resulting in re-ignition of the fire and chemicals that were spilling from the tank. The fire enveloped and trapped both Krumsiek and Damron. They retreated and attempted to exit the building, but the floors were wet and slippery, and they both fell into the burning oils. Both men managed to get up, and they stumbled outside, "looking like human torches," a newspaper account reported. Hose lines were immediately opened and the fire was extinguished, and firemen attended to their injured brothers.

Both men were transferred to the receiving hospital, but despite care, Captain Krumsiek died the next morning, September 8th. George Damron appeared to rally for a few days, but his body was unable to deal with the extent of his injuries and he also passed away, on September 13, 1935.

Standing among rubble of the Oakridge Mobile Home park 73 years later, Captain  Ruda stood with a fallen fireman’s badge in his hand. And at that moment, he decided to do something about it. “The badge represents everything to a firefighter,” he said. “We worked hard to earn it, and we continue to attend to our duties to maintain that honor. I couldn’t let this badge be forgotten.”

So, Ruda arranged for the badge to be encased in Lucite. He spoke with George Damron’s daughter Charlotte, who gave him the badge, and his two granddaughters, Pamela and Cheryl, about preserving the badge at the LAFD Museum and Memorial. They agreed.

On November 14, 2009, at 10AM, Fire Chief Millage Peaks presented a new honorary badge to Pamela and Cheryl, as a tribute to their grandfather, George Damron, and their late mother, Charlotte. He was appointed to the Los Angeles Fire Department on September 5, 1923. On September 7th, 1935, as a member of Engine 2, A-Platoon, he answered his last call. Engine 2, A-Platoon, and the entire Task Force 2 was on hand to assist the Fire Chief with the presentation. Following the presentation to the two sisters, they, in turn, presented their grandfather's preserved badge to the LAFD Historical Society.

For Ruda, the moment he found the badge represents the mystic and wonder of the job. “Not to sound too corny, but it was like a phoenix rising from the ashes,” he said. “To find it the way we did, just shows how some things tend to find their way home.”

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NOTE: You can see the badge at the LAFD Museum and Memorial in Hollywood. To learn more about LAFD Line of Duty Deaths, please visit LAFIRE.COM.

It's one thing to put out fires, and it's entirely another to determine how they started - and in some cases, by whom. The Los Angeles Times has published a wonderful story about LAFD Arson Investigator Tom Derby. It's a terrific read - and if you're interested in the history of the department, this is a story to remember. Note also the wonderful photo by our friend Harry Garvin, a motion picture cameraman who moonlights with the Arson unit.

READ STORY.

On November 6th, 1961, the City of Los Angeles experienced the worst fire in the history of the city - to that point in time. The Bel Air Fire destroyed nearly 500 homes, and it was a miracle that nobody died as a result of the wind-driven flames.

As the November winds begin to pick up this week, we encourage you to check out this important reminder of how quickly a wildfire can destroy a neighborhood, even in today's modern world.

Read our story: Remembering the Bel Air Fire of 1961

Forty years ago, the Watts community of Los Angeles erupted in violence and flames. It proved to be a dramatic and difficult assignment for the Los Angeles Fire Department, and before the city quieted down, a Los Angeles Firefighter was dead and a new system for fighting fires had been implemented - a system still in use today.

The violence was triggered by a simple and fairly common incident, the arrest of a local black citizen by California Highway Patrol officers. CHP officer Lee Minikus arrested 20-year old Marquette Fry for DUI on August 11, 1965. As the arrest was in progress, Fry's mother, coming from their home a few blocks away, began to verbally challenge the arrest. By the time Fry was booked, hundreds of angry Watts residents were in full riot mode, and the city's history was changed forever.

The Los Angeles Fire Department has a photo/video unit and in days past, had a "film unit" to record major incidents, press events, and training for department use. On occasion, either working internally or with outside production companies, promotional or documentary videos would be produced.

In the time period of the late 1940s through the late 1950s, a documentary film, titled, Your Fire Department, was produced. There is little available information on this film, but it is a wonderful overview of the LAFD during this time period. The Historical Society is doing some research regarding this film - and welcomes any input or commentary about it.

This film in interesting for a number of reasons, including the use of color in an era when black and white was most commonly used. Fire Station 27 (now the home of the LAFD museum in Hollywood), is featured in multiple places and apparatus no longer housed there are shown (utility company, salvage company, etc.). The Gorter Water Tower, now on display in the Hollywood museum is shown in action, as are a variety of interesting apparatus that if found today, would be extremely valuable. LAFD Fire Boats are painted in wartime gull-gray, another interesting hint regarding the time of production. Active Firefighters will get a kick out of the techniques used "back in the day" and it's clear that times have changed!

There have been many films highlighting the LAFD during its history. Terry Sanders produced "The Story of a Fireman" in 1962 and today, a new documentary on the history of the department is in production, with the support of the Historical Society.

The video posted on Google appears to have been uploaded from Europe, and attempts to contact the publisher have not been met with a response. If you have information regarding Your Fire Department, we'd love to hear from you. NOTE: Only Part II is available via the link above. You can see the entire video at the LAFD Museum in Hollywood.

Special thanks to Captain I (9-B) Tim Werle for discovering this video.