Chapter Eight - The Florida Fire College
It is astonishing how some of our more important advances are the results of very minor causes. A chance inane remark by a visiting volunteer fireman was really the beginning of the Florida Fire College. This volunteer came to Sebring with a basketball team that had a playing engagement with the team of the Sebring Firemen and while they were busy changing to their uniforms upstairs, he wandered around the lower deck, inspecting the equipment. Then he saw the 2 1/2" hose, he remarked that his department used hose nearly twice as large as that on the Sebring Truck.
This foolish statement set up a train of thought in the mind of the Sebring chief. With Sebring volunteers following their basketball and baseball teams around the state (and probably bragging a little, too) would they show their ignorance of fire fighting equipment and methods when they visited other towns?
Wouldn’t it stimulate interest in their work and pride for their organization as well as respect by others if they knew more of the science of fire fighting; what they were doing and why they were doing it?
The Sebring volunteers were at least on an average with other fire departments in their interest in their work, their attendance at fires and at practices but the mere laying of lines, playing a stream of water and rolling hose can become very routine and unromantic even though the organization is divided into competitive groups. As an experiment, classes on Sunday afternoons were announced in the study of "The Chemistry of Fires".
Living in Sebring at that time (l928) was a retired professor of chemistry, who eagerly gave his services to the group which, just as eagerly attended his classes. Prof. Harry K. Brown began his instruction by explaining "What is Fire." Advancing from that through "What Causes Fire" to the most technical analyses of the major catastrophes, he created such an intense interest in his classes that it was felt that Sebring should share its opportunities with others and also investigate the possibilities of study along other lines of scientific fire fighting.
The first step taken was to publish Prof. Brown’s papers and offer them to others. One of the trade papers published a very favorable review of the work and immediately requests began to pour in from other departments, from universities, from libraries and individuals and industrial companies. So great was the demand that the first edition of 200 copies was soon exhausted and a second printing of the same number barely filled the requests.
As a second step, the National Fire Protection Association and the National Board of Fire Underwriters were contacted and were asked for help.
It was learned that, in some states, fire colleges were being conducted - some as short courses in universities; some by local municipalities and some by state firemen’s organizations all with varying degrees of success. A committee from Sebring went to the annual convention of the International Association of Fire Chiefs in Birmingham to meet and consult with representatives of the NFPA and the IBFU and to learn first hand from fire chiefs who had attended these courses. From these conferences, the committee was convinced that a state-wide fire college was the logical medium through which the members of the smaller community fire departments could gain the knowledge that has later been proven to be so essential in reducing losses from fires.
It seemed logical to assume that the natural organization to promote and foster a training program, would be the Florida State Firemen’s Association which was, at the time, a young and vigorous organization with few specific objectives other than the customary annual meetings which were primarily dedicated to "making whoopee".
The officers of this organization had been wisely chosen and were sincere and dedicated firemen but at that early date in its history, there were no districts of the state and, when first approached, the Association did not show any great amount of interest in the idea although some of the officers, as individuals and heads of their departments that needed the training, were highly enthusiastic. Among these were Chief Floyd Pfaender of Winter Haven and Wm. R. Anderson of Ft. Myers.
In order to avoid further delays, it was determined, in the spring of 1929, to form another group to be known as the "Associated Fire Departments of South Florida" with member departments among the communities running from Davenport on the north to Ft. Myers on the south. Monthly meetings were held in the different towns and the fire college idea was made the major interest of the association.
It was through a committee of this group that the NFPA, the NBFU and the National Fire Waste Council (a committee of the United States Chamber of Commerce) worked together to set up the Florida fire college committee which was composed of the following members;
E. Finley Cannon, Chairman Gainesville
President of the Florida Local Underwriters Association
J. H. Holmes, Member Jacksonville
Manager, Florida Inspection and Rating Bureau
W. V. Knott, Member Tallahassee
State Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner
David Sholtz, Member Daytona Beach
President, State Chamber of Commerce
A. C. Altvater, Secretary Sebring
Fire Chief
Early in the summer of 1929, E. P. Owens, secretary of the Florida League of Municipalities and James C. Clark, editor of the Municipal Record were contacted and they not only endorsed the college idea but gave it wholehearted support in their official publication that went to all city officials in the state and they arranged for a spot on the program of their 1929 convention where the plan was presented to city officials.
With the endorsement of the Florida League of Municipalities and the State Chamber of Commerce and with the Florida committee organized with the names of four of the state’s outstanding and respected men, the Associated Fire Departments of South Florida was ready to approach the Florida State Firemen’s Association for their endorsement. Chiefs Anderson and Pfaender were on the Executive Committee of the Association and they were able to persuade the president, Alex MacWilliams of Vero Beach, to hold a joint meeting of his executive committee and the committee of the Associated Fire Departments at which time the Association agreed to cooperate in the promotion of the college and a sub-committee on arrangements was appointed, consisting of;
Chief J. F. MacMillan, Chairman Cocoa
Chief Wm. R. Anderson Ft. Myers
Chief F. C. Pfaender Winter Haven
Chief B. B. Hart Daytona Beach
Chief A. C. Altvater Sebring
The names of J. J. Parrish of Titusville, J. M. Bradfield of Jacksonville and F. C. Pfaender of Winter Haven, were later added to the Florida committee but, after the initial work of organizing the college and putting it into the hands of the Florida State Association, the Committee passed out of the picture except that it made arrangements for some of the money needed to pay the expenses of the first college session. And, as the purpose for which the Associated Fire Departments was organized had been fulfilled, it too was dissolved.
While the State Firemen’s committee took charge of all arrangements, the Sebring Fire Department agreed to bear the expense of promotion and to carry on this part of the work. There were magazine and newspaper articles to be written, hundreds of letters received and answered, personal appearances before city administrations and contacts with the personnel of fire departments all over the state.
In all advertising literature and in all talks to city officials urging them to send their firemen to the college, it was promised that the session would not be just another convention or social gathering but would be dedicated to real work. Officials were promised that each student would be graded on his attendance, punctuality and effort and all these promises were rigidly kept. Monitors checked every man very, very carefully and the students learned at the very start that an absence would be reported so there was no "goofing off".
By the same token, at the end of the session the grades were compiled and sent, not to the student but to the highest official in his city together with an individual letter of commendation if the student rated it. In most cases, the student was called up before his city council and a public presentation was made of his certificate. This was excellent publicity and, as a result, the students were eager to attend subsequent sessions and came prepared to really work. It was also found that greater cooperation by city officials resulted from these practices.
The formation of sound policies by the first committees, together with strict and honest observance of these policies and the rigid adherence to promises made to students and officials, not only contributed to the success of the first College term but made it possible for future committees to carry on the work with the utmost confidence of those whose support was so essential to success.
If there are degrees of success, the first Florida College was the superlative. Held in Daytona Beach in May 1930, the attendance was far greater than had been expected; the teachers seemed to be inspired and the results were beyond the highest hopes of the committees. Even the teachers learned from the courses that were presented by the others. It is remembered that the instructor of one course said, upon first reading the program, "I don’t want firemen under me studying Chemistry of fires. They will be afraid to go into a burning drug store or warehouse." After hearing the discussions on this subject, he retracted that statement. And the interest generated at Daytona did not stop there. Many of the men who studied there, went back to their homes and carried on classes so that others received benefits from the schools.
The second year, the college was held in Sebring with an enrollment larger than at Daytona but with virtually the same course of studies and the same teachers. It was equally successful and beneficial. After that term, it was returned to Daytona Beach.
The Sebring Fire Department is entitled to take great pride in the fact that, because of its efforts in initiating the movement, Florida was among the leaders in establishing a state-wide system of training in fire suppression. This Department was the real founder of the Florida Fire College.
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The following newspaper item which is reprinted from the Sebring Daily American, refers to the demonstrations as "stunts" and to those who merely watched the evolutions, they might appear in this light. Actually, they were designed to dramatize the appeal that had been made immediately preceding, for the assembled city officials to send their firemen to the proposed Fire College the following spring.
Through the kindness of the committee on arrangements, for the annual convention of the Florida League of Municipalities, the Fire Service Extension Committee was assigned time on the program to explain the plans for the forthcoming College. The Honorable Dave Sholtz, then President of the State Chamber of Commerce, had agreed to make the presentation of plans but four days before the scheduled talk, he wired the committee secretary, "REGRET IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO BE AT LAKE WALES NEXT MONDAY STOP HAVE QUITE A MASS OF DETAIL WHICH I WILL FORWARD YOU TONIGHTS MAIL AM ALSO ADVISING OWEN PLEASE THEREFORE ADVISE HIM PROMPTLY WHO WILL HANDLE, REGARDS. Signed, Dave Sholtz." Mr. Sholtz had contracted a bad attack of tonsillitis and the doctor had advised against public speaking - too late to obtain a good public speaker and prepare him for the occasion.
However, the Winter Haven and Sebring Fire Departments were prepared to give convincing demonstrations on a moments notice and they very graphically proved the statements made by the impromptu speaker on the program - that, by proper training, even the smaller communities could have efficient life and fire protection as well as the larger cities.
The results of these activities were most gratifying and were responsible, to a great degree, for the satisfactory enrollment at the first Fire College.
(Copied from the Sebring American of 17 December 1929)
SEBRING FIREMEN SCORE HIT AT LAKE WALES MEETING
Life Saving Demonstration is Successful
ELEVEN STORY WALES-BILT HOTEL HOLDS NO TERRORS
FOR SEBRINGITES
Delegates to Florida League of Municipalities Meet Applaud Stunts
The Sebring Firemen added another achievement to their long list yesterday when they demonstrated their life saving efficiency before the delegates to the Florida League of Municipalities at Lake Wales.
The eleven-story Dixie-Wales Bilt Hotel was the scene of the Sebring department’s activities, a thrilling rescue stunt was pulled which won a long round of applause from the onlooking delegates and residents of Lake Wales.
A rope was dropped from the 10th floor of the building to the top of the one story roof which covers the sidewalk surrounding the hotel. A 20 foot ladder enabled the Sebring squad to get from the ground to the first floor roof where a ten-foot ladder reached the fire escape. Stepping up the fire escape, Chappie Chapman and Joe Lighthiser mounted the escape, Joe stopping at the sixth floor and Chappie continuing to the tenth. Using the life belt which is owned by the Sebring Department and which fastened onto the rope, Chappie swung outward and coasted down to the sixth floor where Joe awaited him. Together they brought out the "unconscious" form of another member of the department, Joe Wagner. The life belt was fastened around him and he was eased to the first floor roof by two other members. A patent feature of the belt enables a fireman on the ground to control the speed of the descent. Eph Sidders carried the victim to the ladder where he was taken care of by George Hicks and taken down the 20 feet to the ground. Here the process of artificial respiration was applied by Doug Estes and Laurie Williams. The act went over big, the local boys getting a huge round of applause for the feat.
While the reviving process was taking place, several bystanders, "taken in" by the proceeding, pressed around to view the "unconscious" form of Wagner some saying, "stand back, give him air."
Chapman then stepped off the tenth floor with the belt around his body and was pulled in by Lighthiser at the sixth floor. Joe then clung to Chapman while both members slid down the rope, their descent being "braked" by two members of the department who stood on the ground floor.
At the conclusion of this part of the stunt, Joe Wagner then slid down the rope from the tenth floor of the building without the use of the belt, his hands being protected by gloves.
To cap the exhibition by the Sebring department, Chal Lighthiser jumped off the roof of the post office building into the life net held by other members of the Squad.
A hose laying demonstration by the Winter Haven department preceded the Sebring stunts, the Winter Haven boys coupling up in short order in a fine demonstration of team work.