Los Angeles City Fire Department - History

History

LAFD has it origins in the year 1871. In September of that year, George M. Fall, the County Clerk for Los Angeles County organized Engine Company No. 1. It was a volunteer firefighting force with an Amoskeag fire engine and a hose jumper (cart). The equipment was hand-drawn to fires. In the spring of 1874, the fire company asked the Los Angeles City Council to purchase horses to pull the engine. The Council refused and the fire company disbanded.

Many of the former members of Engine Company No. 1 reorganized under the name of Thirty-Eights No. 1 In May 1875, Engine Co. No. 2 was organized under the name Confidence Engine Company.

Los Angeles acquired its first "hook and ladder" truck for the Thirty-Eights. It proved to be too cumbersome and was ill-adapted to the needs of the city. It was sold to the city of Wilmington. In 1876, another "hook and ladder" truck was purchased, serving in the city until 1881.

In 1878, a third fire company was formed by the residents in the neighborhood of Sixth Street and Park. It was given the name of "Park Hose Co. No. 1". East Los Angeles formed a hose company named "East Los Angeles Hose Co. No. 2" five years later. The final volunteer company was formed in the fall of 1883 in the Morris Vineyard area. This company was called "Morris Vineyard Hose Co. No.3."

All of these companies remained in service until February 1, 1886, when the present paid fire department came into existence.

In 1877, the first horses were bought for the city fire department. The department would continue to use horses for its equipment for almost fifty years, phasing out the last horse drawn equipment on July 19, 1921.

When the Los Angeles Fire Department was formed in 1886, it had 4 fire stations, two steam fire engines, two hose reels, a hose wagon, a 65' aerial ladder truck, 31 paid firefighters, 24 reserve firefighters and 11 horses to protect 30 square miles (77 km²) and a population of 50,000.

By 1900, the Department had grown to 18 fire stations with 123 full-time paid firefighters and 80 fire horses. The city had also installed 194 fire-alarm boxes allowing citizens to sound the alarm if a fire was spotted. 660 fire hydrants were placed throughout the city, giving firefighters access to a reliable water source.

In 1911, the Department had 32 fire stations. In this year, the last of the fire houses specifically for fire horses were built. The department now had 163 horses. In this year, the department purchased its first single-piece auto pumper and hose-carrying apparatus—Engine 26.

In 1955 Station 78 in Studio City became the first racially integrated station in the department.

In 2007, LAFD had nearly 3,600 uniformed personnel operating from 106 fire stations who offer fire prevention, firefighting, emergency medical care, technical rescue, hazardous materials mitigation, disaster response, public education and community service to a resident population of more than 4 million people who live in the agency's 471 square mile (1,220 km²) jurisdiction.

In 2011, KNBC reported that the Venice Beach LAFD Engine 263 fire truck had been used in a pornography production. The Venice department truck had been parked in disabled parking spaces and showed actual LAFD firefighters in the background. The Hollywood Station 41 was revealed to have used a fire truck in another production. A spokesman stated these productions were "not one of our proudest moments". The firemen were not charged or cited for appearing in the Venice porn film, since the event was more than two years old. The Los Angeles Times described this exemption as a loophole.

Near the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012, up to fifty arsons exhausted the fire department. It was the worst arson in Los Angeles for 20 years.