HomeMy WebLinkAboutDec14SLOWhatAs a community, San Luis Obispo began as a religious settlement clustered
around a mission named for a 13th century French saint in 1772. In a
remarkable century of California history, the settlement evolved into a
secular municipality under the flags of Spain, Mexico and the United States.
Its evolution both as a home for residents and a community for commerce
required civic attention to multiple issues, especially safety.
First a settlement, then officially a Town, various attempts were made to address safety. With
the 1850s one of the most violent in all the State’s history, personal protection was paramount
as both the County and community of the same name had few resources - including depth of
leadership - to protect the public. From a Vigilance Committee to a Town Marshal, the “police”
eventually became less imperative.
Not so as fire “service” was primarily a citizen’s responsibility; not a municipal responsibility.
Without even an official home, “city hall” involvement in most anything was quite limited. By
the mid-1870s, momentum to become a “progressive” community resulted in the first city hall
(we are now in the second) and a fire department.
The building once located on the site of the current Charles Shoes (867 Higuera St.) is often
misidentified as being a fire station, when in reality it was City Hall with space on the ground
floor for fire apparatus. It’s understandable, as images of the polished engines, sturdy horses
and proud men in uniform were sure to be present for the Fourth of July parade; a fire service
project.
Volunteers above could slide down a pole (after 1894) to any equipment while horses were
led into suspended harnesses to save time. Unfortunately, fire maintains its own speed and
too often whoever heard the fire bell might run alongside the brigade and all would watch a
structure burn to the ground.
In an important decision, when Good Will Fire Co. #2 (1876) petitioned to be a separate entity,
the Town Trustees required them to be a part of the virtually non-existent Fire Department.
April 29, 1878 is arguably the beginning of a civic fire department with the appointment of
Henry Gimbal as Chief Engineer with Jacob Staiger and Frank McHenry as First and Second
Assistants. There was no separate department budget and the City needed to approve every
expense. Both fires and ways to prevent them grew as the Rescue Hook and Ladder Company
#1 asked to be admitted as a “Company of the Department” the next month.
Fires are not civic celebrations but dangerous and destructive. Yet the fascination and
excitement bring a catastrophe face to face with any community’s finest. Hopefully, we can
pause long enough to hear the hoof beats, the men running amid the shouts and cries of so
many fires so many years ago. We might also feel the anguish of those who lost everything.
Restored early equipment are treasured mementos of the past, but, sadly, the forgotten
volunteers are the civic heroes and ancestors for those we know today.
Contact: jacarotenuti@gmail.com
History of San Luis Obispo By: Joseph A. Carotenuti
City Historian/Archivist, Volunteer