A Look Back

Jerry Person

“I sure do remember old No. 1,” former Huntington Beach fireman Lewie

Derigo told me one day.

This week we will look at not one, but two, No. 1 fire engines that

were used to fight many of Huntington Beach’s fires.

But first, a little background on the fire equipment that Huntington

Beach used in its early years.

Between the time of its founding as Huntington Beach in 1904 and its

incorporation on Feb. 17, 1909, the town had spent $500 for a fire hose

cart that was pulled by the volunteer townsmen to fires, a 40-gallon

chemical engine and 600-feet of hose.

With this primitive equipment Huntington Beach’s volunteer firemen

tried to extinguish, though not altogether successfully, its early

blazes.

Don’t forget, this was the time of coal oil lamps and gaslights in

both businesses and in homes.

In 1918 the city bought an old Model T Ford truck to which they added

two 40-gallon water tanks on the back, and hoses,

tools and a ladder.

But it was in November of 1922 that the first No. 1 little red, was

purchased by the city.

It was a brand spanking new 1922 Seagrave pumper that would hold 750

gallons of water.

Painted bright fire engine red, old No. 1 saw many years of service to

the community.

In 1927 the city bought a second pumper for $4,500 to supplement the

coverage of old No. 1 and in 1937 the city bought a third pumper, a

1,000-gallon-a-minute Seagrave pumper.

But the little 1922 pumper retained the designation of No. 1especially

to the firemen of that day.

These three units saw service well into the 1950s.

In January 1957, that title would be pasted to a new member

ofHuntington Beach’s firefighting machines.

This red giant stood 10 feet high, 26 feet long and eight feet wide

and weighed 50,000 pounds.

Built by the Crown Coach Corp. of Los Angeles, it cost the city

$30,000.

The new machine was powered by a 300-horsepower Hall-Scott engine.

At the time, it was considered five years ahead of its time and the

only one of its kind in the world. Many of the new features it

incorporated were suggested by the fire chief of the time, Bud Higgins,

and members of the fire station.

Alone, its water turret gun could shoot 500 gallons of water a minute

on a blaze and could pump 1000 gallons of water a minute into its hoses.

The new No. 1 -- real number 8201 -- held 2500 gallons of water and

was so big that many fires were put out without the need to use the fire

hydrant.

The kids loved to see the original old No. 1, the 1922 Seagrave, in

our Fourth of July parade. Now called, little red, it was later sold to

Travel Town in Los Angeles and used there for exhibit.

New No. 1, big red, was a sight to behold and to hear her siren and

staccato blaster horn warn motorist to pull over was something.

Today there are several thousand fire hydrants around the city, but in

the 1950s the city had only 247 and not a one of these were on the ocean

side of Pacific Coast Highway.

Derigo told me of the time the Pav-a-lon caught fire and how No. 1 let

them down.

When the old Pav-a-lon was ablaze big red came up with her tanks

filled and ready. But when fireman Angie Mollica tried to turn on the

pumps the handle broke off in his hand.

Without a hydrant nearby for water, and unable to unload its contents,

big red sat out the fire.

Big red none-the-less proved itself many times over during many a

fire, not just in Huntington Beach, but in neighboring towns as well.

Derigo said that big old No. 1 went first up north and then to

Riverside.

Little old No. 1, the 1922 Seagrave pumper, may be coming home to

Huntington Beach.

The fire department and the historical society are in contact with

Travel Town people.

So keep your fingers crossed and maybe little old No. 1 will again

travel in our parade -- and who knows, maybe someday big red will be

following little red in our parade and be seen by boys and girls of all

ages standing along Main Street.

* JERRY PERSON is a local historian and longtime Huntington Beach

resident. If you have ideas for future columns, write him at P.O. Box

7182, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.