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In 1922, the volunteer department purchased a hand drawn hose card. This hose cart was in use until 1929.
Los Altos hosecart, 1920. (The alleged date of the photo is in conflict with the historical information above.)
There are no fire department records from before 1928, but it has to be assumed that there was some sort of volunteer fire department in Los Altos before this date.
Lee Smith became the first volunteer in 1926. According to Mr. Smith, there were three voluntary fire department Chiefs before 1949. From 1922 to 1932, Chief Woodworth was in charge of the volunteers. Chief Welch became the next director of the volunteers, and continued to do so until 1938. The last volunteer Chief was Chief Matties who retired in 1948.
The number of volunteers under the Chiefs was always small, and the largest amount they had at one time was twenty five men. A large percentage of those men were local merchants that lived and worked around the town.
In 1929, a Model A Ford fire truck became the official rig of the volunteer fire department. In October 1939, it was taken over by the fire district. The truck was sold, in 1949 to the Vallecito fire district. After considerable searching, the Model A was finally repurchased in 1962, and continues to serve to this day as a momento of historical significance to the fire department and the city.
Photo of 1928 Ford Model A engine at San Francisco docks, in front of the ship "Maldo", taken 1931. Note the siren mounted on runningboard - this must have been deafening to the crew riding in front of it.
Four shots of Los Altos' 1928 Ford Model A. It had a 250gpm (950 l) rotary gear pump and a 300 gallon (1135 l) tank. The city still owns this rig. Photos 1 and 2 taken 18 July 1973 at Loyola station. Photo 3 taken 20 Aug 1988.
Right photo: Sanding down the front end of the Los Altos Fire Department's original Model A fire engine are firefighters Don Letcher (left) and Jim McClure, president of the Los Altos Firemen's Association. (Los Altos News, 6 February 1964)
Los Altos' first engine back and being restored. (From several newspaper articles.)
After being gone for 13 years Los Altos' first engine, a 1929 Ford Model A, was repurchased and underwent extensive restoration by the firefighters.
When the fire engine was "retired" in 1949, it was sold for $500 to Vallecito, a small town with a volunteer fire department in Calaveras County. The old engine stayed there for many years until it outlived its usefulness, and was sold to an orchardist who used the engine's 300-gallon (1365 l) tank to irrigate his fields. From the orchard the battered engine went to the Calaveras County Junior Chamber where it was used as their parade entry at the annual Jumping Frog festivities.
According to Assistant Fire Chief James Pirie, the Calaveras Junior Chamber was "sympathetic to our cause but they wanted us to find an old vehicle we could trade for the engine. It took us about a year. We found that old vehicles are hard to find, but finally came across a 1926 touring sedan." The sedan was acceptable to the Junior Chamber; however, the owner of the 1926 model wanted $400 for it. With a bit of scraping and finagling, the $400 was raised, and the trade made.
The Los Altos Chamber of Commerce, one of the few groups organized in 1930, originally bought the engine to replace a handdrawn cart, used by the volunteer firemen. At that time, everything was on a subscription basis and the cost of the engine and its upkeep came from contributions. There were no taxes then. That's why the engine got laid up a few times when there was not enough money to maintain it. Finally, in 1939, the Los Altos Fire District was formed, covering the unincorporated area that is now Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, and funds were gained from taxation.
When restored, it's use was restricted strictly for show since Pirie remembers that the engine "wasn't too speedy even in the 40's. I can recall kids on bicycles beating us up a hill to a fire." In its heyday, however, the engine did a fast 40 miles per hour (65 km/h) and had 60 horsepower. The engine pumped 175 gallons per minute (800 l/m).
The fire station during this period was located in Ramsey's Garage. A siren was placed atop the building and could be heard throughout the town.
The only piece of apparatus was a hose-cart that was used until sometime in 1930, when a 1929 Model A Ford fire truck was purchased. According to the late George Dunham, a Los Altos volunteer and later fire marshal, the first time this engine was used, nobody knew how to operate it; George Ramsey was in San Francisco at the time. Fortunately the resident had the fire almost out with a garden hose when the fire department finally arrived.
The majority of the fires during that period were grass fires. Los Altos was still small an there were not that many buildings around.
Historical documentation about the thirties is scarce, and written documentation is pretty much limited to fire reports.
Ramsey's Garage, at First at State Streets, operated from 1924-57. An agent for Franklins, Fords, Chryslers and Dodges, George Ramsey and Tom Woodworth, who ran the local feed and fuel store, were the ones who went to San Francisco to buy the Model A engine and drive it back to Los Altos. For 10-12 years it was kept in Ramsey's garage. The volunteer firemen in those days "hardly had enough money to buy gas for it," according to Ramsey. In the early 1920s none of Los Altos' streets were paved. Later paving was added only in the middle so that during the rainy season cars parked at the sides were forever getting stuck in the mud, keeping Ramsey's tow truck busy. Photo 1926.
In 1929 Los Altos purchased it's 1929 Ford Model A one ton truck, which it still owns. The first Volunteer Fire Department was organized at Ramsey's Garage in 1931. In 1939 the Los Altos Fire District was formed; Los Altos incorporated on 1 December 1952.
1928 Ford Model A engine.
Then and Now: Los Altos' first fire station, located at 216 Main St. Left photo: date unknown; Right photo 9 April 2005.
Roy Tittle, the first paid firefighter in Los Altos, in front of Mack engine. Photo 1942.
In 1941, a Mack fire truck was purchased. This truck was used at Sequoia station until 1954, when it was shifted to Loyola Station. The 1941 Mack was finally sold in 1963, to help purchase another rig.
Mack engine. First photo shows it in the 1941 WWII Los Altos Disaster Relief and Preparedness Parade. The second photo (taken 1941) has a heavily retouched background. The bottom photos are from 1942. Note preconnected squirreltail supply hose and large number (10!) of 3" hard suction hose lengths on carried on rack. Note also the pre-war chrome bumper; during the war, fire engines were manufactured with a minimum of chrome, a strategic metal in short supply.
In 1945, the department purchased a 1937 Mack Jr. tank truck, which had the capacity of 900 gallons (3410 l). It was sold in 1946.
In 1946, in white, Van pelt 750gpm (2840 l/m) pumper, with 1000 gal (3790 l) tank was bought.
Four views of a Los Altos 1946 Mack pumper at Loyola Station. Note lack of chrome due to wartime restrictions. This engine does not have the squirreltail that the earlier Mack carried; it also mounts fewer hard suction hoses, and has equipment cabinets around the rear wheelwells. Photos dates unknown.
Two views of Sequoia station, at Third and State Streets, in 1948. On left, the dedication ceremony for the station, 1948. The station cost $39,328.
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