Title supplied by cataloger. In September of 1871, George M. Fall, the County Clerk for Los Angeles County organized Engine Company No. 1. This volunteer firefighting force disbanded in 1874 after the City Council refused to purchase horses to pull the fire engine and hose jumper - equipment that had previously been hand-drawn to fires. Soon after, many of the former members reorganized under the name of Thirty-Eights-No. 1. In May 1875, Engine Co. No. 2 was organized under the name Confidence Engine Company. In 1877, the first horses were bought for the fire department. In 1878, a third fire company was formed and was named Park Hose Co. No. 1. Five years later, in 1883, the East Los Angeles Hose Co. No. 2 was formed. And the final volunteer company, called Morris Vineyard Hose Co. No. 3, forming in the fall of 1883. All of these companies remained in service until February 1, 1886, when the present paid Los Angeles Fire Department came into existence. When it was officially formed, it had 4 fire stations, 2 steam fire engines, 2 hose reels, a hose wagon, a 65' aerial ladder truck, 31 paid firefighters, 24 reserve firefighters, and 11 horses to protect 30 square miles and a population of 50,000. Today, the LAFD has 106 fire stations and nearly 3,600 uniformed personnel offering 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 jurisdiction. Los Angeles Fire Department, Engine Company No. 14, located at 3401 S. Central Avenue and the corner of 34th Street. Engine Co. #14 operated out of this station from 1902 to 1919. Prior to that, from 1900 to 1902, Chemical Engine Company No. 2 occupied this location. A group of African American firemen pose in front of the station next to two engines, and are part of the "A" and "B" Platoons. These men are identified as: (front row) Captain Guy Bailey, Lewis J. Harris, Horace Green, George Buford, Godfrey Catley, Frank F. LaVigne, Terry A. Addison Jr., and Captain Lawrence Washington; (rear row) Theodore Webb, Carl Auther, La Francis Jordan, James R. Akers, Jr., Frank Milton, and Ford M. White. This photograph is part of the African-American Firefighter Museum collection.
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Image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;21 x 26 cm. Photographic prints
Los Angeles (Calif.).--Fire Department Engine companies--California--Los Angeles Fire engines--California--Los Angeles Fire stations--California--Los Angeles Fire fighters--California--Los Angeles Streets--California--Los Angeles Group portraits Portrait photographs
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