A nostalgic display is the housing for Shrieking Sam, the old siren that sat atop Station 1 and called volunteer firefighters to duty well into the 1990s.That the SPFD has always been active in the community is evident from newspaper clippings telling of charitable good works and work of another kind, such as a SPFD unit responding to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, is also documented.Brush fires, structure fires, tragedies and triumphs are all on display through newspaper clippings and dramatic photographs ... the $50,000 reward poster for the person(s) who set the 1979 packing house fires demonstrates a time of concern while the successful firefight of 2006 that saved the historic Glen Tavern Inn reflects a time of great relief.The 1992 Moore’s General Store fire didn’t have such a happy ending but a shot of now Captain Jerry Byrum - who successfully dislodged a child from a drainpipe - brings a great sense of happiness.Decades of rosters and pictures of proud as a peacock firefighters shows an aspect of the history of the department deeply intertwined with Santa Paula the city the department was charged with protecting.The reception for the Santa Paula Historical Society exhibit - displayed through June 14 - drew more than 150 people who heard an introduction by Chief Araiza describing how the department rose from the ashes of the 1903 devastating Main Street Fire.Attendees also witnessed a thrilling demonstration by SPFD Firefighters.For more information on the exhibit including hours and admission prices call the Santa Paula California Oil Museum at 933-0076.
Born of Fire & Fury: Santa Paula Fire Department Exhibit sizzles
April 29, 2009
Santa Paula News
“Born of Fire & Fury: A History of the Santa Paula Fire Department” sizzles at the Santa Paula California Oil Museum where vintage examples of firefighting equipment and a rich history of the city’s responders is drawing those with a love of history and the romance of firefighting.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula Times“Born of Fire & Fury: A History of the Santa Paula Fire Department” sizzles at the Santa Paula California Oil Museum where vintage examples of firefighting equipment and a rich history of the city’s responders is drawing those with a love of history and the romance of firefighting.The exhibit is full of familiar faces from the line of Chiefs stretching from 1903 - when Oscar Harvey led the then-all new volunteer SPFD - to George Harding who served from 1950 to 1968, the first Chief pictured wearing an official SPFD hat.From the department’s first full-time Chief Paul Skeels to present Chief Rick Araiza to the multi-generational Wellman/Lazenby firefighting clans the proud history of the department is also captured in various newspaper clippings and documents detailing more than a century of emergency response.It is a proud history with firefighters or their families lending precious awards, recognitions and photos ... a non-firefighter, Randy Axell, lent his replica 1918 Santa Paula No. 1 fire engine, the showpiece of the exhibit.Built by the late Ray Tucker and friends in the mid-1950s, kids - as well as their fathers - love that truck.Five-year-old Bill Howard of Camarillo with his father William was checking out the truck and made his wishes known: “I want,” said the boy, “to ride that thing!”Other notable equipment displayed includes a 1909 Wirtz & Knotts fire hose cart and an array of rank and file firefighters’ and Chiefs’ - many of the latter noting No. 1 - hats and helmets.
