Puerto Suello Hill Tunnel Fire July 20, 1961 by Robert Marcucci, Fire Chief (ret), San Rafael Fire Dept.
Chief Bill Lellis (ret) is LIVE! today with the second Code Three LIVE! blog at 2:00 pm PDT. You can click HERE to watch at 2 or use the convenient button on the home page.
Today Bill does an overview of Marin County (because he thinks at least 3 people in the world may not know where it is), he looks briefly at the 1906 earthquake during this anniversary month. And we remember Tom Forster who founded this web site. Next month on LIVE! Bill will have a surprise LIVE! guest and he will take your questions and comments LIVE! also. The monthly format is: Week 1 - a written blog Week 2 - a new Video of the Month Week 3 - written blog on a different topic Last week - The Code Three LIVE! Send us your comments and suggestions for future blogs and programs. We are looking for ideas of interest to our audience. Email MARINFIREHISTORY@GMAIL.COM SEE you today at 2 pm LIVE! right here. SOUNDING THE ALARMby Chief Bill Lellis (ret) The following tale tells the story of how the early volunteers’ firemen were alerted to a fire in their community. One must imagine that this was repeated throughout the county. Since this country was founded, notifying the community that a fire was threatening their town was a very challenging task. In order to prevent the colony of New Amsterdam, from burning down in 1648 Governor Peter Stuyvesant, hired six men to patrol the town at night, looking for the possibility of a fire. The instrument they carried to notify the citizens of a fire was called the “rattlewatch.” Once a fire was discovered, they would sound their rattlewatch, and the citizens were required to respond by law. At nighttime, each home had to leave three full buckets of water outside their front door, which the men responding to the fire would grab and apply on the fire. As communities grew and fires became more frequent, the best way to call the citizens to fight the blaze was to sound a bell on the village’s tallest building. In Larkspur, they built a 50-foot tower next to the Catholic Church on the corner of Cane Street and Rice Lane. It was the volunteer’s responsibility to maintain the bell, rope and the tower itself. Even in 1909, kids would be kids. So, the town trustees had to invoke an ordinance that the bell could only be rung for church services and in the event of a fire. Our Country’s most famous fire bell is the Liberty Bell. The first telegraph fire alarm system was developed by William Francis Channing and Moses G. Farmer in Boston, Massachusetts in 1852. Two years later they applied for a patent for their "Electromagnetic Fire Alarm Telegraph for Cities." In 1855, John Gamewell of South Carolina purchased regional rights to market the fire alarm telegraph, Later obtaining the patents and full rights to the system in 1859. John F. Kennard bought the patents from the government after they were seized after the Civil War, and returned them to Gamewell. They formed a partnership, Kennard, and Co., in 1867 to manufacture the alarm systems. The Gamewell Fire Alarm Telegraph Co. was later established in 1879. Gamewell systems were installed in 250 cities by 1886 and 500 cities by 1890. In 1910, the volunteers began to install fire alarm boxes throughout the town. In 1910, the first one was placed at the intersection of Magnolia Avenue and Ward Street and the bell was mounted on the outside of the firehouse. Once they had money from the dance, they decided to install the state of the art Gamewell Fire Alarm System. In 1925, at the cost of four thousand dollars, they hired two volunteers who were electricians by trade to install 33 alarm boxes through old town. The key to reporting an alarm . When the first street boxes were placed in service in the 1880’s the key to open the box and pull the lever down was not attached to the box. Rather there would be a sign on the box telling the reporting party the key was in one of the stores near by. So they would have to run to the store hoping the place was open, get the key, run back to the box and report the fire. It was quickly realized in the large cities in America this was not a good idea. So they began to attach the key to the box, but kids would break them off putting the box out of service. Along came the Dog House, that little building attached to the alarm box door, protecting the key. But you still had to find a sharp object to break the glass to open the box. The citizens now had a fire alarm box within running distance of their homes. The chief of San Rafael stated, “It was the finest alarm system in the county.” The red fire alarm boxes were placed on utility poles or on buildings. The system was a low dc voltage running on 0.100 milliamps (MA) power. The boxes were on a closed loop system. Every box had its own coded wheel and every time the wheel came in contact with the circuitry it opened the system, and the air horn on top of city hall would blast. In the station, there was a Gamewell receiver that would interpret the firebox code. The system had a punch out reel on a counter, and every time the horn blew it would punch out a hole in the paper tape. The entire cycle of the box being received at the station lasted as short as a minute. The first volunteers who arrived at the station would read the tape and mark a blackboard telling all other responding volunteers the location of the fire. Regulations entered the alarm system when Underwriters required that the original circular hole be replaced with a triangular indicator on the tape. The reason being Underwriter’s wanted to make sure the fireman rolled the tape in the proper direction so the tape could be reviewed for insurance purposes. The diaphone was a noise-making device best known for its use as a foghorn. The Gamewell Corporation, of Newton, Massachusetts designed a smaller version for use on fire stations throughout the country. After city hall was constructed in 1913, the volunteer’s would take advantage of the 70-foot towers at the rear of the building. On the top of this tower, they placed a Gamewell diaphone air horn. At the bottom of the tower was an air compressor that would provide the 75 cubic feet of air a minute, at a pressure of between 35-40 psi. The pitch of the Larkspur horn generated 210 Hz. and could be heard throughout the town, it had a range of six miles, on a quiet day. It was tied into a special Gamewell clock at the fire station. The horn blew at 8am, 12:00 noon and at 5 pm. This was to test the air system and the electrical circuits to see that they were in working order. When the 5 o’clock horn blew, the children of the town knew it was time to stop playing and to come home for supper. The alarm system was retired from service due to the cost of maintenance and that more modern notification systems were entering the fire service. The alarm system is currently on display in the Historical Room at the Main Station at 420 Magnolia Ave. The town of Ross fire station still has a wonderful alarm system on display,, What does the Plectron Corporation in Overton, Nebraska have to do with telling the volunteers they have an emergency call and their help was needed? A plectron was a specialized VHF/UHF single-channel emergency alerting radio receiver. The department began purchasing these home receivers in the 1960’s, to be put in each volunteer’s home. They were activated by a tuning fork rated at 3000 Hz (Hertz). The fork was hit against a solid material while the radio channel was being held open. The Plectron receivers had a device that vibrated at its prescribed frequency and closed a relay. Initially, these modules were reeds that vibrated. Once the relay closed, it latched, requiring to re-set, as the reed only vibrated for a short time. For all intended purposes it was the first piece of equipment that brought the department into the electronic age. If a volunteer wanted to monitor the counties radio traffic, all they had to do was to turn it on. In those days a majority of departments were on the radio frequency of 46.50 MHz If they were not home at the time of the alert, a light on the unit was on telling them they had a call. Like all systems, they were replaced with a new generation of electrical notification devices. The home receivers were replaced with new pagers that the volunteers wore on their belts, so both the street boxes and the plectron went into retirement. On the 4th of October 1931 a street wise cop made is comic depute, His name would be Dick Tracy. And in 1946 cop would bring to the world the first twoway radio watch, and 60 years later the fire service will have at their desposal a new way of communication to the fire service when Appril came out with it’s digital two way wrist watch. In the last years of the Larkspur Association of Volunteer Firemen, the digital age came swooping out of Silicon Valley, and the ability to transmit a fire alarm to the volunteers would come bouncing off cell towers. The age of Dick Tracy “I Watch” has arrived. Sorry we missed the live Code Three today...but the almost live Code Three is available to VIEW at your leisure. We hit a bit of a timing problem getting approved (yes we have to be approved) to stream on youTube. We have talked about a few social media alternatives for our videos and live posts and we believe youTube is the best for professionals such as us. We tried Facebook as a stop-gap today but it was somewhat unreliable. Please let us know your thoughts. marinfirehistory@gmail.com. Thank you for your understanding and enjoy the almost-live Chief Lellis.
. This web site has and will continue to add more historical information, photos and videos from long ago. In addition to this fantastic history we have we are adding a glimpse into the not-so-distant past with Chief Bill Lellis' blog THE CODE THREE which debuted earlier this month of March. And now Bill takes it one step further and he reaches into the technology of the present with a monthly LIVE broadcast - The Code Three LIVE.
Bill has some great things planned including special LIVE guests from the fire service, photos and videos past and present, stories and anecdotes and contests and prizes. ("prizes" may be overstating a bit. ed.) It promises to be 30 minutes of LIVE fun with the Marin Fire History Group. And if you miss it you can watch it later....but its best to watch it LIVE. Bill is busily preparing his shows and scripts and is wide open to suggestions for topics, guests, videos and other related content. Email him at MARINFIREHISTORY@GMAIL.COM. This promises to be a lot of fun and informative at the same time. You can watch starting FRIDAY MARCH 29 AT 2:00 PM PDT by going to our website and clicking the VIEW LIVE button on the home page. Easy???? And please share your comments and suggestions for The Code Three LIVE. Bill and his helpers at Share-A-Vision Productions are anxious to hear from you. MARINFIREHISTORY@GMAIL.COM is our email. AND tomorrow's "surprise" guest will be Chief Bob Mariani (ret) from Kentfield Fire who tragically lost his home to fire recently in Paradise CA. You will see Chief Jim Galli (ret) present Chief Mariani with a new badge, patch and helmet from Kentfield. Now are you ready to watch? SEE you tomorrow at 2. San Rafael Was the First Fire Department in Marin County. This is their history. The year was 1874. Queen Victoria was Queen of England. Benjamin Disraeli had just become her Prime Minister. President Grant was in his second term as the country's President. California's Governor was a Republican by the name of Newton Booth. This was the year Herbert Hoover, Winston Churchill and Robert Frost were all born … And on December 5, 1874, the San Rafael Fire Department was organized. By posting a notice in the Marin County Journal, Mr. William Miller and Mr. J.B. Rice stated their intention to organize a volunteer company to provide fire protection for the newly incorporated City of San Rafael. The enthusiastic response from local citizens led to the formation of a 45 man volunteer fire department,led by elected sheriff, James Tunstede. The volunteers came from a variety of professions including a school superintendent, a county surveyor, a justice of the peace, carpenters, plumbers, , blacksmiths and merchants.The newly formed company called itself "San Rafael Hose Company Number One", but soon changed its name to the "San Rafael Hose, Hook and Ladder Company" to better identify its duties. The company proudly proclaimed the motto "We are always ready when you want us “Funding for this company came from a variety of sources including member dues, annual dances, gifts from grateful citizens who had property saved from fire, and occasional petitions to the town trustees. The company’s first piece of equipment was a four wheeled hose cart which was pulled by hand. The men would literally run to the fire pulling the hose cart behind them. San Rafael had a very good gravity fed water system as well as strategically placed fire hydrants throughout the city - by 1894 there were 55 hydrants in the city. Unlike cities with poorer water pressure, San Rafael did not need to rely on hand or steam pumper carts to supply water pressure to the hoses. To produce a strong firefighting hose stream, the firemen simply connected the hoses to the nearest hydrants and applied the hose stream against the structure or item on fire. However, there were some drawbacks to this system. In the Spring of 1875 the Company responded to a fire in a barn on B Street. It was literally a dark and stormy night. When the company began to pull the hose cart to the fire, it immediately became mired in the mud until enough men gathered to free it. When the company arrived on the scene it was discovered that the wrench to open the hydrant had been left back at the firehouse! The final insult to injury came when the firefighters finally got the wrench only to discover to their dismay that they did not have enough hose to reach the fire; the barn burned to the ground. The art of firefighting had room to grow. The San Rafael Hook and Ladder Company continued to evolve and improve. By the 1890’s, the Company had 90 volunteer members, two hand pulled hose carts, two hose carriages and one hook and ladder wagon that was pulled by a rented team of horses when needed. Later the horse team of Tom and Jerry were purchased to provide full time service and availability in order to reduce response time to a fire. In 1913, the Department entered the modern era when it purchased its first motorized chain driven apparatus- a Pope chemical wagon. The days of running to the fire with a hand-pulled or horse pulled wagon were gone forever. Tom and Jerry lived out their lives pulling a coal wagon in San Anselmo. The Little Town of Ross Was First Seagrave was founded by Fredric Seagrave in Detroit, Michigan in 1881. It is today the oldest continuous manufacturer of fire apparatus in the United States. In 1909, Ross resident and well-known architect Conrad A. Meussdorfer led the effort to improve the Ross fire protection, as noted in the San Francisco Call, Volume 106, Number 164, 11 November 1909 "Auto Fire Engine For Ross - Saturday the new automobile combined hose wagon and chemical englne passed through here on its way to Ross, where It will do duty. It is the gift of Mr. John Martin, the well known resident of Ross who never does anything by halves, to the Ross Volunteer Fire Department as a slight appreciation for the valuable work rendered when his green houses were on fire. Al Jewett, chief of the Sausalito Volunteer Fire Department, was deeply Impressed with its value and the generosity of Mr. Martin. He Is looking forward to the time when Sausalito will have one will have one. The automobile is a whole fire department In Itself. It will carry 2000 feet of hose, a long extension ladder, besides hooks, short ladders, axes and lanterns and the full equipment IncludIng the chauffeur and firemen. The auto fire wagon took a run Into San Rafael on Sunday night, where it was the center of much attraction and admiration by all." The first American (volunteer) fire department company is often credited to Ben Franklin, around 1736, in, Philadelphia, PA. it was called the Union Fire Company. This started as a "club" or co-op, to protect each other's homes in the event of a fire. We in California can expect that many insurance companies will be leaving the state in lew of our recent configuration. This is the first workable fire engine to be built in the United States. It was constructed in New York City by Thomas Lote, a well known coppersmith and ship builder who made delivery to the city late in 1743. It became popularly known as “Old Brass Back” because of Lote’s lavish use of polished brass fittings.It appears on the United states firs stamp dedicated to the volunteer firemen. Issued in 1947. To Moses Latta. Of Cincinnati, Ohio, belongs the honor of inventing the first successful Steam Fire-Engine. This engine was named “ Uncle Joe Ross” The weight was 22,000 lbs and required four horses. It was placed into service Jan. 1, 1853. Thus, the first paid fire company to operate with the untiring energy of stream was brought into existence, the first in any age or country. The San Quentin State Prison Jute Mill Fire Takes the Life of Marin County Firefighter. San Quentin March 3, 1909. Standing shoulder to shoulder with their guards 105 convicts fought like demons against a raging fire in the largest textile mill in California. The Juit Mill made burlap bags for the California agricultural industry. The mill sat on the banks of San Francisco Bay outside the main walls of the prison. Without a doubt it was the dirtiest job an inmate could be assigned. Each day an inmate was required to weave 300 feet of material, the noise and the dust filled air, made it a hazardous place to work. The striped garbed firemen made no attempt to escape, but battled with the blaze, risking their lives in determined effort to defeat the roaring fire. During the losing fight against the fire the leg of James Frowroan, a prisoner from Jan Joaquin county was broken so severely, that it had to be amputated. Frowman, in company with several other convicts, were attempting to save a Gatling gun in the post on the top of the warehouse. Frowman was descending the ladder to the ground when he was overcome by thick smoke and fell. A moment later the heavy gun crashed down and struck him on the leg, breaking it in two places. The gun was being lowered and got beyond the control of the convicts. A hurry called was sent to San Rafael for aid and the Larkspur Fire Department also responded. Fire Chief Dan Schnieder took charge, and they laid five lines onto the building. Fire Chief Ambrose of Larkspur responded with their two 60 gallons chemical engine. An hour later the fire tug Governor’ Markham from San Francisco steamed around the point. The water in the bay was too shallow for passage, so the tug was compelled to tie up at San Quentin point, half a mile away. At 4’o’clock the launch Governor J.N. Gillett, with 10 firemen from company 12 and headed by Captain Cook, reached the fire and rendered much assistance. CONVICT-HERO IS HONORED IN DEATH Brave Man in San Quentin Fire to Get Private Burial SAN QUENTIN. March 5, An honorable burial, the reward for an honorable death, will be accorded S. J. Frooman, a convict who died in the prison hospital this afternoon from Injuries received while bravely fighting the fire in the penitentiary last Wednesday. Frooman, displayed reckless gallantry during that exciting period. When the call came for volunteers, he was among the first to step out. It was his one opportunity to retrieve his dishonored name, to clear himself of the taint of a criminal being, to take his place as a man among men. It was his chance, and he took It. For a few moments, he lifted himself from out the slough of his debased position and then died. While yet he lived in honor a merciful Gatling gun fell upon him, crushing him to his death. He lived in dishonor but died a man, and for his manner of death will be burled as a man. In San Rafael cemetery, not as a criminal in a convict grave. This will be the only satisfaction to his wife and daughter, who are in Europe and unaware of his crimes and his death. He was convicted for forgery and would have been released in 1911. The' expenses of his funeral will be paid by the guards of the prison. San Francisco Call, Volume 105, Number 96, 6 March 1909 QUESTIONS OF THE Day ???
On what fire service equipment will you find a Dog House? Which Marin County fire chief received the equivalent of our Congressional Medal of Honor from France? Why did the City of Cincinnati have Uncle Joe Rose built? Using the first initial of Conrad A. Meussdorfer what equipment was invented in Marin County? The purpose of the Marin County Fire Chief’s sponsorship of this site is to promote awareness and appreciation of the counties Fire Service history. We cannot forget those that came before us, and step forward to except the challenge of protecting their towns and villages. They made the commitment and sacrifices with no regard for their own wellbeing. It’s our hope that the Code Three newsletter will keep alive their memories and deeds for current and future generations. Farewell for now Who We Are - by Bill Lellis Tom Forster’s (1958-2018) forward thinking vision brought forth the Marin County Fire Chiefs’ Association Fire History website. The first blog was posted on March 29, 2015. As we embark on this generation of the web site, it is appropriate, that we learn more about this man we all know as Tom. Tom was a third-generation volunteer firefighter. His Grandfather Frank Nelson was the Town of Corte Madera’s Public Safety Officer for over 30 years, serving the town as both Police Chief, and in his final years as Fire Chief. Tom’s father Jack was also a lifelong volunteer with the town’s fire department. Tom could not wait for the opportunity to turn 18 years old, as that was the minimum age to join the volunteer force. By the time Tom turned 18, the Corte Madera Volunteer organization had disbanded, leaving Tom in a dilemma on how to pursue his life-long dream of becoming a firefighter. Tom did the next best thing and applied to become a volunteer with the neighboring community of Larkspur. Tom was gladly accepted, and would serve the citizens of Larkspur with honor and distinction. After graduation from Chico state he became a member of The Skywalker Ranch Fire Department, where he proudly worked for its founder George Lucas for over 35 years. Later in his life, Tom married Maureen, and lived at Skywalker Ranch, where he managed both the Skywalker Ranch Fire Department as Fire Chief and other Ranch activities. Tom and Maureen eventually moved to Plumas County, while Tom continued to work for George Lucas. Tom became associated with the Plumas Eureka Volunteer Fire Department, eventually becoming its Fire Chief. During their long relationship, Maureen was instrumental in many of Tom’s successes and provided continued support and companionship. It has been over a year since Tom’s last blog. The Marin County Fire Chiefs’ Association, as in the past, will continue to sponsor this renewed endeavor. We are proud to continue with Tom’s legacy and move forward with renewed enthusiasm with the Marin County Fire Chiefs’ Fire History web site. The Editor will be Fire Chief Bob Marcucci (retired), the Web Master will be Dan White of Share-A-Vision Productions and Fire Chief Bill Lellis (retired) serve as Contributing Editor. The name of the new blog will be The Code Three. We hope that all of you will participate and contribute articles telling us about the history of your department, prior to 1959, as it relates to the Marin County Fire Service. Use the form on the CONTACT page of this website or email us at our new email address MARINFIREHISTORY@GMAIL.COM L > R Dan White and Bill Lellis at Skywalker circa 2011We now know of roughly 30 fire departments or organizations that no longer exist in Marin County. According to retired Marin County FD Senior Captain & Historian Pete Martin, almost all of the West Marin communities had volunteer fire departments before the Marin County FD came into existence in 1941. So far we were aware of departments that no longer existed in West Marin in Point Reyes, Olema, Bello Beach, Tomales, and possibly San Geronimo. This is in addition to FD's that still serve in Muir Beach, Stinson Beach, Bolinas, Inverness, and Nicasio. Tomales today has a volunteer fire company based at the Marin County FD station, supplementing the County staff and equipment when needed.
While doing research on another topic, we came across articles detailing another department from long ago, that of Forest Knolls. The creation of the group may have been motivated by the disastrous fires on 1923 around Northern California, including in Marin County. In particular, that fire devastated the neighboring community of Woodacre. So far, we only have one possible photograph, consisting of an old fire chemical engine and a chemical hose cart, with an unknown woman sitting on the front of the cart. We are now publishing the story of what we know so far, thanks primarily to articles from the old San Anselmo Herald. Thanks also to retired Marin County FD Senior Captain Greg Jennings, for providing the photograph that may show the fire equipment Forest Knolls used. Research will continue, and for now you can review what we know so far. "It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things." - Daniel Handler, Lemony Snicket Today we are posting the start of a biography page for retired Larkspur FD Chief William "Craig" Shurtz, who passed away in January of 2018. Included is his obituary story, photographs from his Celebration of Life gathering held in Corte Madera on February 18, and a short film clip. At some point the family will also be sharing more photographs from his life, and we'll be posting more film clips from the Larkspur FD featuring Craig. If you have anything to add please send it along. Our most important series of features on the Marin Fire History site are the biographies of the people who served. The public often thinks of the fire service in terms of fire engines, red lights and sirens, and fire stations. We know better - the most important asset we have are the firefighters themselves.
Our ever growing list of fire service veterans is quite incomplete. You can help us by suggesting features, and contributing stories and images of those who served. Use the Contact Page under our main menu to start the process. We'd especially appreciate your help in contributing written features, as time is a limiting factor on the growth of this section. Today we are featuring the story of Clarence Nunes, a second generation firefighter who served as a long-time Captain in the Marin County Fire Department. Clarence passed away in October of this year at the age of 80. Read the beginning of his story, and see some photos our his biography page. Please send any additional memories and/or images of Clarence to add care of tnforster@mac.com. The FELLAS, ROMEO, and MCFD retired groups - Where do retired Fire Service members gather?11/22/2017
Ever wonder what happens to fire service members who retire? Our unofficial observations, without any formal research, include the following: some in effect "disappear" from the fire service, preferring to spend their time with family and friends, perhaps traveling and engaging in other pursuits and hobbies. Some stay connected through maintaining fire service friendships, and attending fire department functions such as retirement gatherings or dinners. Some stay engaged through teaching or otherwise providing support. Some increase commitments to charitable causes or community efforts, such as disaster preparedness or church activities.
One ongoing gathering still happening decades later was the brainchild of Tiburon Fire Chief Frank Buscher, or so we believe. This group is called ROMEOs, standing for Retired Old Men Eating Out. A related and similar group was called FELLAS, or Fire Executives of Long Long Ago. The groups appear to have been started in the 1970's or 1980's, and included social gatherings at the Corinthian Yacht Club & Tiburon Tommies, popular spots in Tiburon and Belvedere. Dinners and lunches have been held. Today ROMEOs still holds a monthly "First Wednesday" no-host lunch with an open invitation, typically at the WildFox Restaurant in Ignacio, on the west side of Highway 101. Read more about the ROMEO and FELLA group histories from Frank's son, retired San Rafael FD Battalion Chief Jeff Buscher. We've also posted a new photo of the Marin County FD lunch group, and hope to gain some historical information soon. Visit our page under the "Current Associations" menu, and see some great photos, including those at the most recent ROMEO lunch. Thanks to retired Mill Valley Chief Jeff Davidson for sharing the recent ROMEO photos, and to Jim Mann, retired from Marin County FD, for their group photo of a lunch last year.. It's been almost three months since our last Blog post and new content announcement. After several years of successfully posting from 1-3 Blog announcements each month, the many events from mid-September until now, including the north bay fires, have resulted in delays. We do hope to post several new stories before the end of this year, including a look at the 1964 Hanly fire in Sonoma and Napa counties. Marin County send mutual aid resources back then, as was done on a much larger scale for the Tubbs and other fires in the region this fall.
In our Hanly fire feature, you'll learn, for example, about firefighters from Novato FD helping save a hospital chock full of 250 patients in Sonoma County, with help from San Quentin Prison inmate firefighters, among others. Accompanied by a brief film shot by the California Highway Patrol in 1964, this story is coming soon. For now, with thanks to Judy Coy and the San Anselmo Historical Museum, we are sharing the oldest known photo of a major forest fire in Marin County, along with the story. This fire roared on the slopes of Mt. Tamalpais over 126 years ago. While it is not unusual to find multiple generations of family members in the American fire service, the extended family of Samuel L. Mazza has an amazing breath and depth of public service, including in fire, law, and the military. Chief Mazza died in the Line of Duty at a fire in Nicasio in 1948, and his story has been largely forgotten and is mostly unknown today. Thanks to the tools of online research, and some great photos preserved by retired Senior Captains Greg Jennings and Pete Martin of the Marin County FD, one surprising discovery led to another, and it was hard to know where to stop digging.
We have chosen to share some of the high points of his family and life, but by no means all of it. For example, we don't cover one of the members of a family tree branch, a man who served as a California State Senator and Judge, Thomas F. Keating. In fact, there are connections in the family tree to many other well-known Marin County names, such as Bloom, Keating, and Giacomini. Many stories to be told, so little time. Join us this month in reading about Chief Mazza and some of his extended family. Now remembered, it's a story that should never be forgotten again. You can either click the button link below, or find the story under the Line of Duty Deaths menu, 1948. Where? We are guessing that many of our readers have never heard of Tocaloma. It was a thriving small community in it's day, but is mostly known by a small sign on the road today in West Marin. Maybe you've noticed it while driving through on Sir Francis Drake, west of Samuel P. Taylor State Park, or maybe not. It was the location of, or near, the site of several large fires, in 1916 and 1945, including the one we are profiling this week that burned in December of 1916, on the day after Christmas.
The Train ran right past it. The what? Yes, passenger and freight trains traveled through West Marin back then, as in much of Marin in general. It existed long before Kent Lake was built, and long before the State Park existed. One could take the ferry from San Francisco to Sausalito, and then climb on a train to Mill Valley and go to the top of Mt. Tamalpais, and take the stage to Bolinas, or ride a gravity car down into Muir Woods. Or, take the train from Sausalito through Mill Valley, Corte Madera, Larkspur and the upper Ross Valley, going out through Fairfax, then through the Bothin Tunnel, and eventually to Point Reyes Station through Tocaloma, and on to Cazadero. Let's travel back in time to Tocaloma in it's heyday, thanks to our good friend Dewey Livingston, Historian and Author. Dewey has contributed an excerpt about Tocaloma from a book he is currently writing on the history of the Point Reyes area. He expects it to be published next year, stay tuned. The story is listed under our Major Fire, Incidents Menu>Structure Fires>1916 Tocaloma Hotel, or you can click below to go to the page. Thanks to retired Tiburon Fire Protection District Captain Larry Bogel for this weeks contribution to the Marin Fire History Project, telling the story of his career and how it came to be. In this case, how he got out of the house as a young man, and eventually found a career he loved. This is the second story about "sleeper" programs at our fire departments, in this case at Tiburon. Thanks also to Larry for sharing his robust collection of fire service photos and newspaper articles - we are scanning to use as resources for many future features.
We've started adding sub-pages to the main residential firefighter program page, under our "more" menu. We hope that any other fire department who have had a sleeper program at some point in their history will follow Larry's lead and share some stories and images. We are more than open to any written contributions to all areas of this project, contact Tom Forster @ tnforster@mac.com with any submittal questions. We are especially interested in biographies, and are slowly building a long list of names to profile as best we can. Remember our original purpose, "Never Forget? We forgot, but are now remembering, preserving, and sharing history." Let's take a closer look at an example of fireworks causing serious fires in Marin County. The earliest example we know of so far happened in Sausalito 124 years ago on, of course, the 4th of July.
In this case funds for an Independence Day fireworks display were raised by the owner of a hotel named the El Monte. Contributors included members of the community who wanted to see a good fireworks display on the 4th of July. It was reported that several hundred dollars were raised, or more than $7,000 today. To put that into perspective, remember in our last blog and story about the fireworks in Corte Madera, that they only spent a few hundred dollars in the early 1950's, and even by the early 1970's only $1,500 for huge displays. So, we know the El Monte put on quite a show that night. Unfortunately once the show was underway, a nearby business downhill, a saloon and lodging structure called "The Hunters Resort", caught on fire, and the flames eventually spread to many other structures. With no fire department other than the start of organizing volunteers, and no fire equipment, along with a limited water supply, the fire burned unchecked for some time. Eventually a fire tug boat from the San Francisco FD arrived to help, and at some point the fire "got tired" and went out. The proprietor of the El Monte Hotel, Colonel J.E. Slinkey, denied his fireworks caused the fire, and of course with no fire department there were no fire investigators. At that time the San Rafael Volunteer Fire Department was the only FD in existence in Marin. The good news is that this fire led both to the incorporation of Sausalito starting that same year, and to the creation of the Sausalito Fire Department. Read about this fire by clicking the button below, and also visit the Sausalito FD page under the Departments>Former>Sausalito FD menus. The obvious link between fire departments and fireworks today are in two areas. First, the enforcement of fireworks prohibitions, and secondly, dealing with some of the consequences that can include injuries and fires. In Marin County fire service history, there is also an unusual story of a partnership between the community, business, and a local fire department for over 15 years. A large fireworks display on Independence Day, the 4th of July, was performed for both entertainment, and to discourage individual neighborhood displays.
This year the evening news on July 4th featured huge fireworks going off around bay area cities like Oakland and San Jose. While this was spectacular in many cases, the problem was most were illegally being set off, with enforcement stretched thin due to the huge geographic area involved. To the north of Marin, four cities in Sonoma County including Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Cloverdale, and Sebastopol featured "Safe and Sane" fireworks sales and neighborhood displays. The rest of Sonoma County prohibited all sale and use of fireworks. Read this week's feature story on how some members of the Corte Madera Volunteer Fire Department became licensed pyrotechnicians, and orchestrated huge displays that attracted tens of thousands of people for 14 years, starting in 1953. Learn what motivated the displays, and why they ended in the 1970's. This week features the story of a forgotten fire in San Rafael in March of 1950, a little over two months before the double fatality of firemen fighting the Mar Vista Motors blaze.
The fire at the Marin County Storage & Trucking Company was unusual in several ways, and the research led to several “It’s a small world….” stories. This is a common occurrence with our research for the Marin County Fire History project. In the process of learning about a person or a fire, we discover a much deeper world that has been mostly forgotten. This fire, for example, revealed links to volunteer firefighters in San Rafael, including a Doctor who served in the D-Day invasion at Omaha Beach. A photograph of the fire was published nationally, due to 100 bystanders pushing a railroad boxcar out of danger. The buildings were owned by the family of the San Rafael Fire Inspector, who investigated the cause in the aftermath of the inferno. Also this week, please keep retired Larkspur Fire Chief and Marin Fire History project writer Bill Lellis in your thoughts and prayers. He’s been in the hospital for over a week now, with serious illness, which was finally tracked down to a necrotic gallbladder, which has now been removed. We hope he can come home soon. |
AuthorOur Blog announces new site content, and gives the context of the topic and it's relationship to fire service history. Written by Bill Lellis & Paul Smith Archives
August 2022
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