Buffs Skip Coffee, Find Other Ways to Be Helpful
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Staff Correspondent
Somehow hot coffee served on the fire line seems out of place in sunny Southern California. In fact, Los Angeles Fire Department rules preclude any canteen operations by buffs in that area. But that hasn’t kept the Box 15 Club from supporting the fire service in many ways during their 30 years of existence (the anniversary was celebrated in 1979.)
This group is one of the several member organizations of the International Fire Buff Associates to include both civilian and fire department members, including at least one fire chief within its ranks. So it has been able to work in special closeness with the fire service throughout Los Angeles County.
Typical of that was the attendance at the club’s 1979 annual dinner of the chiefs of both Los Angeles City and County Fire Departments. City fire commissioners and other officials were among the 50 members and guests.
One of Box 15’s big events during 1979 was the officially sanctioned “Southern California Muster” at the Pomona Fairgrounds, sponsored by the County Fire Department Museum Committee. Besides a display booth of fire photos, patches, and other memorabilia on the grounds, buffs put on the fire apparatus display including such member-owned rigs as a 1936 pumper.
They used vintage apparatus to transport many of the 1200 persons attending a Saturday evening barbecue. This popular event was repeated in April 1980.
One Box 15 member, Jay Bressler, a retailer by occupation, handles as a sideline the pre-delivery photography of apparatus for a Los Angeles fire equipment manufacturer. Another of his hobbies is restoration of old fire rigs. One of those, a 1955 pumper of historical significance, was displayed for the official opening of the Los Angeles County Fire Department Museum a few years ago.
In the city itself, the club honored fire department historian Capt. Bob Foster at a special retirement reception last year, recognizing his role in restoring the Old Plaza Fire House. More than 1¼ million visitors have toured this attraction since it opened to the public almost 20 years ago. A California registered historical landmark, the ancient structure housed the city’s first permanent volunteer fire company a century ago. It was closed in 1897. As the years passed, it became badly run down—as did the surrounding neighborhood.
In the 1950’s, Box 15 worked with Capt. Foster to bring .about restoration of the building as a Victorian firehouse, complete with horsedrawn chemical engine plus many other mementoes. The club assigns members on a rotating schedule to serve as tour guides there each Saturday and Sunday.
A special event in the nearby old Spanish village area, where the modern city began, occurs the day before Easter each year. This is the Festival of the Blessing of the Animals. Although unrelated to any fire service activity, it brings thousands of additional tourists into the area so that large crowds visit the Old Plaza Fire House at that time. Extra buff manpower turns out to assist.
Other Box 15 activities in the past: A bicentennial program sponsored by a local Girl Scout council, entitled “Two Hundred Years of the Fire Service.” Several fire departments took part in this activity. The buffs furnished a display booth, and brought in old apparatus for viewing. A long-established club custom on Fire Service Day each year has been to post members at a number of county fire stations to help on-duty personnel with demonstrations and tours.
This year, Associate Member Bob Tyler of the Box 15 Club is the elected president of the IFBA. In recognition of his many years of work in behalf of the city, the Los Angeles Fire Department has appointed him a civilian inspector—only the third time in history that such an honor has been bestowed.
