USA > California > Alameda County > History of Alameda County, California. Volume I > Part 26
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
F. O. Shipton, C. T. Anderson, R. H. Spenser, George C. Wolter, W. H. Jordan, J. L. Chamberlain, H. L. Butler, T. D. Ottman, Edward L. Brown, J. H. Murphy, P. J. Petersen, William Haldeman, W. Til- lotson, J. M. Dolan, P. McKeegan, J. A. Gunter, W. M. Smith, G. H. Hall, A. P. Reinhardt, Robert Collett, G. L. Doolan, L. H. Bannister, J. F. McCarthy, F. Neils, T. Duane, J. E. Murphy, J. L. Phillips, M. J. Shannon, W. R. Jones, W. I. Hodgkins, C. T. Hunley, E. J. Cross- man, Thomas Pardee, J. P. Mulhern, G. G. Underwood, D. C. Hen- ninger, M. Emigh, O. J. Watson, C. A. Fife, Pat. J. Kelly, Bernard Curran, G. L. Caveney, J. H. Carter, C. B. O'Brien, F. L. Anderson, J. J. Dunn, James McCormick, M. O'Reilly, F. W. Burbank, C. G. J. Gargadennec, M. Moore, P. McTigue, G. N. Green, G. G. Mulholland, Alfred Deike, J. E. Forrest, E. A. Kimmel, C. C. Peters, Alfred Sey- den, W. Tusher, C. C. Pleasants, M. J. Buckley, D. J. Teehan, L. L. Drury, J. H. Evers, James Greenlee, Ernest Holmberg, C. B. Jennings, P. J. Connelly, W. T. Kohler, T. J. Oakes, M. J. Schmidt, J. P. Stocker, J. A. Riley, George Garcia, E. C. Summers, J. E. McCumber, A. B. Stebbins, S. Connelly, D. O'Connell, H. W. Teeple, W. A. Meyer, J. E. Gannaw, F. R. Paulson, J. J. Fleming, J. W. Maxey, E. H. Long, A. J. Shefoff and A. C. Gillem.
The officers temporarily retired were Sergt. J. F. Sill, Corp. R. O. Bergson, and patrolmen F. J. Thompson, J. E. Forrest and N. R. Degel- man. The retired officers were W. F. Fletcher, chief of police; D. Hol- land, inspector; and patrolmen S. H. Mitchell, Henry McCloy and D. W. Swain. The matrons of the force were Mrs. C. F. Baxter, Mrs. J. K. Hayes, Eleanor Underwood and Mrs. M. L. Saunders. The patrol wagon drivers were E. F. Hughes, Harry Brown and W. T. Bradley. M. T. Adams, W. J. Gill and George Wigg were police elevator oper- ators; and D. S. Van Schaick was senior stenographer in the depart- ment.
The officers and members of the board of directors of the Widows' and Orphans' Aid Association of the Oakland Police Department at that time were: President, Captain J. F. Lynch; vice president, Capt. Charles Bock; financial secretary, Sergt. Frank Ahern, recording sec- retary, Inspector Lou Agnew; treasurer, Inspector W. B. Quigley : board of directors, Chief W. J. Petersen, Capt. J. F. Lynch, Capt. Charles Bock, Capt. Thorwald Brown, Lieut. Fred Schroeder, Lieut. Charles Hemphill, Sergt. Frank Ahern, Inspector Lou Agnew, and Inspector W. B. Quigley.
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THE DEPARTMENT IN 1928
With approximately 367 members, including officers and men, in 1928 the Oakland Police Department is a complicated organization in contrast to the small body of men first organized seventy-five years earlier under Chief John McCann. Today its seventy-five officers have the responsibility of handling the police problems of a great metropoli- tan area, questions that range from the apprehension of internationally known lawbreakers to the regulation of congested traffic districts. A total of 292 patrolmen are on duty throughout the three precincts. These men operate under thirty sergeants. There is only one corporal left on the force; this grade is being abolished because of the similar- ity of the duties of the police corporal and the police sergeant. Donald L. Marshall has directed this large organization since his appointment as chief on July 11, 1927, and he maintains the fine traditions of the Oakland police service. The chief is assisted in his duties by a captain of inspectors, three police captains, one inspector in charge of the Bureau of Identification, seven lieutenants, thirty-one inspectors, one assistant inspector, thirty sergeants, and one corporal. On duty at headquarters are also two stenographers and three elevator operators, while four matrons are employed to care for women and children who fall into the hands of the authorities.
Chief Marshall gave a splendid demonstration of the ability of the department to handle an unusual situation during the great gatherings of citizens from the entire Bay region in the summer and fall of 1927, on the occasion of the Dole airplane flight to the Hawaiian Islands in July and the welcome given to Charles Lindbergh at the Oakland municipal airport in September. A crowd of more than 50,000 persons thronged the great flying-field to welcome "Lindy" on September 17, 1927.
Under Lieutenant of Police Charles Hemphill, the Oakland Traffic Department has brought about a noticeable diminution in the number of traffic accidents in the downtown area since the adoption of an auto- matic signal system in December of 1926. The plan was instituted to eliminate jay-walking. By means of a system of a red light of danger and a green light to denote that it is safe for the traffic to move in a given direction, the flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic is regulated so that the passage is in only one direction for a given period. These automatic "stop" and "go" signals were placed at the principal inter- sections in the downtown district. An intermediate orange light is
DONALD L. MARSHALL
Chief of Police, Oakland, addressing throng of more than 50,000 persons gathered to welcome Charles A. Lindbergh, at the Municipal Airport, September 17, 1927
WHY HURRY?
Save a Minute Waste a Life
!
LIEUTENANT OF POLICE CHARLES HEMPHILL Head of Oakland Traffic Department, calling attention to latest message (1928) of the East Bay Safety Council, posted on billboards throughout the city
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flashed as a signal for the traffic to start in a given direction. This is immediately followed by the green safety light. When the red light is shown, the traffic in that direction stops. An officer is stationed at these intersections with authority to place under arrest any individuals who disregard the signals. The Traffic Department, save in rare instances, has had the cooperation of the general public and the system has been highly successful in reducing the number of traffic accidents.
CHAPTER X (Continued) THE OAKLAND FIRE DEPARTMENT
EARLY HISTORY-ORGANIZATION OF A PERMANENT DEPARTMENT, 1869 -THE DEPARTMENT IN 1872-DESTRUCTIVE FIRES OF EARLY DAYS -THE DEPARTMENT IN 1879-FIRE LIMITS OF 1890-THE DEPART- MENT, 1905-1915-FURTHER GROWTH, 1915-1928
Oakland's first Fire Department was established a little more than a fortnight earlier than the Police Department, if the ordinance of the Trustees of the Township of Oakland passed on August 27, 1853, for the authorization of the purchase of a fire engine can be said to have created a fire department. Two thousand dollars was appropriated for the purchase of this defense against a conflagration, according to a resolution adopted by the trustees on December 24th of the same year. Mr. Staples and the clerk of the Board of Trustees were appointed a committee to make the purchase.
The repeated devastation of San Francisco by fire during the early history of the city is evidence of the necessity that must have been felt by the citizens of Oakland township and later of the Town of Oak- land for taking proper precaution against a blaze of large proportions. Happily the city in all its history thus far has escaped a fire of any great magnitude. Good fortune, an efficient fire department, and plenty of water are some of the reasons.
In the fall of 1853, Col. John Scott, a New York fire laddie and a thorough fire-fighter, and others petitioned for the organization of a regular fire department to comprise the Empire and Washington En- gine Companies and the Oakland Hook and Ladder Company. The organization was not effected until 1854, when Scott was elected Chief Engineer, the equivalent of the modern office of chief. An engine-house was built and on March 25, 1854, the same day on which Oakland was incorporated as a town, the sum of $800 was allowed by the City Fathers for painting the engine-house, for the purchase of hose, and for all the fixtures which in those days were considered essential to the equipment of a complete fire-house.
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Mayor Carpentier was an earnest advocate of adequate facilities for preventing a conflagration or even destructive small fires. In his first message to the Town Council, the Mayor recommended the or- ganization of a more efficient fire department. He said, "Nothwith- standing the width of her streets and comparative isolation of her build- ings, Oakland is still exposed to danger from that element which has successively visited with ruin nearly every other city and town in the state. The building of cisterns at convenient intervals will be neces- sary, and I recommend the purchase by the city, at an early day, of additional fire-engines and also of the necessary apparatus for Hook and Ladder Companies. By a judicious use of such means as may be in our power, and by encouraging a spirit of emulation among the citizens, I hope, at the end of the year, to see the Fire Department of Oakland one of the best regulated and most reliable in the state."
On June 24, 1854, Empire Engine Company and Oakland Hook and Ladder Company were admitted into the department, while the chief engineer recommended the building of four cisterns to be placed at the corners of Broadway and First, Second, Third, and Fourth streets. Upon the reference of these recommendations the committee on fire and water, on June 24th, that body advised the construction of only two of these, to wit: one at the corner of Broadway and Second and one at Broadway and Fourth streets. On August 5, 1854, Wash- ington Fire Company, No. 2, was admitted into the department; and on November 4, 1855, the office of fire warden was created. But unfor- tunately this organization was short-lived, for on January 16, 1856, the council authorized the sale of the fire-engine, if it could be done with advantage to the city. The sale of the engine was deferred, however, when the council learned that sale by auction was made mandatory by the charter. From this date until March 25, 1865, when fire limits were first established by ordinance, complete records of the activities of Oakland's Fire Department are lacking.
The need of more adequate fire protection was brought to the at- tention of the public in the spring of 1865 in a spectacular manner when the Delger block in the heart of Oakland was destroyed by fire and damage done to the extent of $50,000. The military organization known as the Oakland Guard, a citizen militia, aroused by this disaster, of- fered its services to the town in the following communication :
"TO THE HONORABLE, THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF OAKLAND-Gentlemen: The late disastrous and destructive fire which has devasted a large portion of our young city certainly shows the urgent necessity that exists for a proper fire or-
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ganization to resist such a dire evil in the future. As citizens of Oak- land, and having her welfare and safety deeply at heart, we tender the services of the Oakland Guard as a fire company, provided your Hon- orable Body will furnish the necessary apparatus. While our services as soldiers are not needed on the battlefield, as firemen we may save our fellow-citizens, their lives, and property, from the scourge of fire.
"Respectfully Yours,
"HENRY N. MORSE."
The services of the guard thus generously offered were accepted by the citizens at a public meeting of citizens on April 24, 1865, and a Hook and Ladder Company was organized by them.
The growing menace of wooden buildings as fire hazards was rec- ognized by the City Council in a resolution on January 18, 1868, order- ing that no additional permits should be granted for structures of wood within the fire limits. The fire limits were extended in an ordinance passed by the council on September 28, 1868; this measure was re- pealed, however, on October 28th.
ORGANIZATION OF A PERMANENT DEPARTMENT, 1869
The first permanent Fire Department finally came into being on March 13, 1869, under the provisions of an ordinance approved Sep- tember 21, 1868. John C. Halley was elected chief engineer and Thomas McGuire and George Taylor, assistants. These officers suc- ceeded John Scott, the first chief, and his two assistants, John C. Hal- ley and W. W. Moore, assistants under the former organization. For this new department the city purchased a third-class Amoskeag fire- engine. Col. John Scott temporarily advanced funds for the purchase of a hose-carriage.
The Oakland Daily News of January 15, 1869, had the following remarks to make about this latest vicissitude in the history of Oak- land's Fire Department : "There have been passed numerous ordinances creating and organizing a fire department, almost every council hav- ing considered it incumbent to pass some such measure and in due time repeal it. The present council has created a fire department, on paper, and destroyed it. Another department is about to be created which will be a reality and we hope never to be disorganized. In ordering the transfer of $5,000 from the Building to the General Fund, the council signified its intention to pay for the steam fire-engine from the first funds that might be received."
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On March 3, 1869, a body of fire-fighters calling themselves the "Phoenix Fire Company" were admitted into the organization. This band did not distinguish itself as a branch of the fire-fighting forces of the city and was mustered out of the department by the council on October 24, 1870, in the following resolution :
"WHEREAS, It is evident that Phoenix Engine Company, No. 1, after an existence of more than eighteen months, has utterly failed to so perfect its organization as to become a well-drilled and efficient fire company, and
"WHEREAS, Said company shows no signs of improvement, but on the contrary manifested even less efficiency than usual at the fire which occurred on the 16th instant, and
"WHEREAS, The negligence and want of skill of said company have resulted in large losses of property to our citizens; therefore
"Resolved. That the honorable, the City Council, be requested to disband said company and take such steps as they deem necessary for the election of a new company by the commissioners, or otherwise."
After the adoption of this resolution twenty-six persons were ac- cepted as a new organization.
On February 17, 1869, the council passed the following resolution :
"Resolved, That the Committee on Fire and Water be requested to consider the matter of having hydrants placed at convenient loca- tions about the city and report to the council at an early date."
Considerable light is thrown upon the organization of the depart- ment, the attitude of the council toward it, and the calibre of its men by the following address made by R. N. Williams on February 22, 1869. The occasion was the presentation by the Pacific Insurance Company of a beautiful silver trumpet to Chief Engineer John Scott and the Oakland Fire Department.
"Firemen of Oakland," Williams said, as he addressed the whole brigade, "The anniversary of the birth of the Father of Our Country has been well chosen to celebrate the successful inauguration of an enterprise which claims the active sympathy and cooperation of every citizen of Oakland. You have associated yourselves for no selfish purpose, but for the public good. The parade today shows what can be accomplished by men, few in numbers, but resolute in purpose, bent upon the acquirement of an object in which they believe, and for which they are willing to work. In a short time you have stimulated the public into earnest support of an effort to provide some means of protection against fires. You have induced by your personal exertions an apa- thetic city government into providing a steam fire-engine, which has no
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superior on this coast. You have organized a company of active and intelligent members, whose very appearance guarantees their efficiency. From among you, a few of the more prominent ones have secured an expensive hose-carriage and an ample supply of hose, for which they have become personally responsible. So far as you are concerned the organization is a complete success, and, with the exception of pro- viding a 'steamer,' you have no one to thank but yourselves. You may well feel proud of your organization, for it is the result of your own labor. Only one thing is necessary to render your efficiency complete- an ample supply of water, and the public voice imperatively demands that this want shall be immediately supplied. You deserve some acknowledgment from the people for your services, and as the rep- resentative of one of the prominent Home Insurance Companies I re- quest your acceptance of this trumpet for the use of your chief engineer and his successors in power."
Williams then tendered the trumpet to Col. John Scott, the chief engineer of the department, with many complimentary references to the energy and perseverance he had exhibited in the organization of the Fire Brigade. The gallant chief made a suitable reply. The trumpet bore the following inscription: "Presented to the Chief Engineer of the Oakland Fire Department, John Scott, by R. N. Williams, Agent of the Pacific Insurance Company." On the inverse side was the legend, "To John Scott, by R. N. Williams, February 22, 1869."
THE DEPARTMENT IN 1872
The department received an addition on April 8, 1872, when the West Oakland Hose Company was admitted into the organization.
When Mayor N. W. Spaulding came into office he looked forward to the day when funds would be available to improve the department. In his message of April 15, 1872, he recommended that the depart- ment be made as efficient as the finances of the city would permit. He recommended "at least two cisterns in the most favorable location, of sufficient capacity to meet the requirements of possible emergencies, also that those already constructed be put in proper condition." That the city had outgrown its fire-fighting apparatus, then suitable only for a small community, was also the opinion of the mayor, who recom- mended the investigation by the council of the merits of the Babcock Fire Extinguisher.
In the spring of 1872 the department had a personnel of forty-five men, members of Phoenix Engine Company, No. 1, and in addition the thirty-seven members of the Relief Hook and Ladder Company. The
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city had thirteen hydrants, situated at the following points: North- east corner of Eight and Alice streets; northeast corner of Twelfth and Alice streets; northeast corner of Tenth and Webster streets; north- west corner of Eight and Broadway; northwest corner of Tenth and Clay street; northeast corner of Eighth and Grove streets; northwest corner of Tenth and Brush streets ; northwest corner of Fourteenth and Brush streets; northeast corner of Eighth and Adeline streets; north- east corner of Eighth and Center streets; northeast corner of Seventh and Pine streets; northeast corner of Fifth and Broadway; northwest corner of Twelfth and Broadway. There were three cisterns: one at the corner of Broadway and Second, another at the corner of Broad- way and Third, and one at Broadway and Fourth streets. There was only one engine house; it was located on the city hall lot. The building of a second one, somewhere in the lower portion of town, was recom- mended by Chief Engineer George Taylor, in a report made to the council on April 15, 1872.
The personnel of the Hook and Ladder Company was increased to seventy men on October 7, 1872, while on November 4th of the same year thirty-five citizens joined the department to replace the disbanded "J. B. Felton Engine Company No. 2." On December 11, 1872, the de- partment received the further accretion of Brooklyn Engine Company No. 3. On August 10, 1874, the City Council by ordinance ordered the complete reorganization of the fire department, and in 1876, to keep pace with the times, a fire-alarm telegraph was installed. On January 21, 1878, the office of fire marshal was created.
DESTRUCTIVE FIRES OF EARLY DAYS
The city experienced several destructive fires during the '70s and '80s, in one of which the city hall was burned to the ground. The destruction of this structure, which had been erected in 1869, at an expense of $70,000, took place on the night of August 25, 1877. The building was made up of three stories and an attic, and built accord- ing to the plans of Architect Sumner Bugbee, presented an imposing appearance.
The fire, which occurred on a Saturday evening, was first discovered when passers-by noticed that the attic windows were aglow with light. An alarm was turned in, but for some reason the Fire Department, not any too well organized, according to contemporary report, was slow in arriving. The fire was a quick one, and when the department did arrive, although the crews made valiant attempts to save the structure, they were too late.
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It was about twenty minutes after the alarm had been turned in before the fire-fighters could do effective work. A further delay su- pervened because the lines of hose became entangled, resulting in con- fusion. At no time was there more than one stream of water playing above the third floor of the building while the flames had had full range of the attic at the moment they were discovered. To add to the misfortunes of the fire department, a spliced ladder gave way with the firemen upon it and one of the men had his leg broken.
As soon as it was seen that the building was doomed, a small army of workers began carrying out the furniture and public docu- ments, nearly all of which were saved and removed to the Potter build- ing, across the street. City Treasurer Dods experienced considerable difficulty in getting into the room where the assessment rolls were kept in order to carry them out. He had no key, but the door was forced by him, C. B. Rutherford, and other citizens, some of whom took Mr. Dods up in their arms and used him as a kind of battering ram to break the door in.
The prisoners in the basement were greatly frightened at the pros- pect of rapid incineration, but were all led out in safety by Capt. Rand of the Police Department. A bell weighing 3,300 pounds which hung in the cupola of the city hall became detached as the blaze devoured its moorings and fell with a clash and clang into the burning wreck, where it became a mass of molten metal. Scores of persons carried away pieces of the melted bell as souvenirs.
A new building was erected on the ruins of the city hall in 1877. The cost of the structure was defrayed by insurance money paid on the old building.
The year before, in the month of November, the Empire Brewery, owned by John Gilmore, was destroyed by fire, while the house of Mr. Ironmonger, adjoining it, also caught. This house was said to be the first dwelling erected in Oakland. It originally stood on Broadway, near the wharf, where it had been built by Mr. Carpentier when he first settled there.
One of the notable fires of the '80s was the destruction of the Grand Central Hotel, a large, four-story wooden building which stood on the south side of Twelfth Street, between Webster and Harrison. The hostelry was well filled with guests on March 10, 1880, when fire broke out in the kitchen in the rear of the building at about what was later thought to be 1 o'clock in the morning. No alarm was turned in until 2 o'clock. A fierce northwest gale was blowing, and at times it was
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feared that the Dietz Opera House, the Agricultural Pavilion, and other buildings in the vicinity would be destroyed also. Fortunately the fire was confined to the block in which it originally started, burning, in addition to the Grand Central Hotel, the Webber House, on the southwest corner, and four one-story tenements.
The guests, awakened in the dead of night by the roar of the flames and the crash of falling timbers, were compelled to flee for their lives in various stages of dishabille. No lives were lost, but many persons were unable to save their valuables. The loss to one woman was said to be about five thousand dollars.
The hotel was owned for the most part by the estate of Michael Reese, a San Francisco millionaire, and was insured for $62,000. There was little doubt that the fire was incendiary and charges were freely made at the time that the building had been over-insured. The Webber House, owned by Dr. Merritt, had carried no insurance, and represented a loss of $20,000.
The night of September 8, 1880, was the scene of another spectacu- lar fire when the Galindo. Hotel, on Eighth Street, was destroyed by flames which were supposed to have originated in a defective flue. The loss was estimated at $50,000. In this fire, as in that of the Grand Cen- tral Hotel, guests had to flee in scanty attire.
Still another hotel fire occurred the night of August 14, 1893, when Tubbs Hotel, the largest wooden structure in Oakland at that time, was completely burned. The building was four stories high and faced on East Twelfth Street. For a good many years Tubbs Hotel was the favorite suburban residence of well-to-do San Francisco families dur- ing the summer months, but during later years its business had de- clined. The building had been erected by Hiram Tubbs in 1879 at a cost of more than $200,000. The first lessees of the house were Tubbs and Patten, the former, Michael Tubbs, being the father of Hiram Tubbs, and a professional hotel-keeper.
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