In the early days of the Department, before the formation of the Consolidated Fire Protection District, rescue services were performed within the independent fire protection districts that covered mainly flatland areas, but not by the Forester and Fire Warden (F&FW) with jurisdiction in the foothill and mountain areas. After the districts and the F&FW were fully combined into one organization in fiscal year 1953-54, the rescue systems used by the independent districts were unified and adopted throughout the Department. The earliest was Rescue Squad 1, quartered at Fire Station 11 in Altadena. This unit was in service from 1927 to 1946 and consisted of a 1922 Lincoln sedan that was donated by a wealthy citizen and modified by our shops on Mission Street into a rescue truck. It was staffed by just one forester and included an oxygen inhalator, stokes litter, a U.S. Army stretcher, multiple rope coils, and cutting and digging tools. It featured an array of first aid equipment, and housed forcible entry tools and fire extinguishers on board. After the end of World War II, the F&FW quartered rescue squads at Fire Stations 3, 8, 9 and 11. Then, between 1947 and 1955, rescue squads were added to Fire Stations 10, 19, 20, 29, 31, 47 and 94, and were added piecemeal after that as new fire stations were built. The apparatus varied between ’47, ’49, and ’55 Fords, ’52 Internationals and one single ’47 Chevrolet. The most famous was the 1947 Ford panel truck used for the filming of the TV show, “Rescue 8,” which premiered in 1958 and was based on a two-person LACoFD rescue squad operating out of Fire Station 8. Actually, the crews varied at this time depending on the location and the type of call. A single person responded if rolling with an engine from a separate district. If the call came from its own district, two persons responded and the engine would remain in quarters. Two-way radios were available by that time, so personnel had the added security of being able to radio the dispatcher for help should they need it. Equipment carried in the rescue squads at this time included all of the 1927-era devices, in addition to a suitcase-sized “E&J Resuscitator,” an electric plug-in smoke ejector, cutting torch, overhaul and salvage equipment, and miscellaneous tools for all occasions. |
