Local Firefighters An Important Part of Los Angeles Community And Government - By: Matthew Paolini

The Los Angeles Fire Department is also known as the Los Angeles City Fire Department in order to distinguish it from the County Fire Department. It is the department that gives fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of L.A.

The department has it origins in the year 1871. In September of that year, the Los Angeles County Engine Company No. 1 was organized by the County Clerk. It was a volunteer firefighting force with a fire engine and a hose jumper. The equipment was hand-drawn to fires. In the spring of 1874, the fire company requested of the Los Angeles City Council to buy horses to move the engine. The council responded in the negative and the fire company disbanded.

Soon after that Los Angeles purchased its first hook-and-ladder truck, which turned out to be too cumbersome and was not well adapted to the needs of the city. The truck was sold to the city of Wilmington, and in 1876, a new hook-and-ladder was purchased, serving in the city until just after 1880.

During 1877, the original horses were bought for the city fire department. The agency continued to use horses for its firefighting duties for almost fifty years, phasing out the last horse powered equipment in 1921.

When the L.A. Fire Department was established in 1886, it had 4 fire stations, 2 steam fire engines, 2 hose reels, a hose wagon, an aerial ladder truck, 31 paid firefighters, twenty-four reserves and 11 horses to protect 30 square miles and a population of approximately 50,000.

By 1900, the fire department had grown to 18 stations with 123 full-time paid firefighters and 80 horses. Los Angeles installed 193 fire-alarm boxes allowing citizens to sound the alarm if a fire was seen. 660 fire hydrants were situated throughout the city, giving firefighters with a reliable water source.

By 1911 the agency had 32 stations. In this year, the last of the stations specifically designed for horses were constructed.

Today, the fire agency has approximately 3,600 personnel operating from 106 stations who provide fire prevention, emergency medical care, hazardous materials mitigation, disaster assistance, and community service to a resident population of more than 4 million, living in 471 square miles.

About the Author

Matt Paolini is a local government writer for CityBook, the family-safe Los Angeles yellow pages online, which carries an extensive directory on Los Angeles social human services and organizations.

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