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1938
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1937 - L to R: H.G. Bayer, A.E. Baldwin, H.H. McCall, W. Viney, R. McFederick, 1911 Webb pump in front of Station No. 1.
1938 - Fire Prevention Week.
November 1, 1938 - Gail S. Braden, Dispatch center Station No. 1.
| Toward the end of the year in 1938, Fire Chief McCall was complimented by one of his fire boys in an interview with a Eagle reporter. The fireman stated that "McCall is a hard master, but he has a heart as big as a washtub. To hear him cuss us boys at a fire, a fellow would think he was going to murder every man on the force, but he don't mean half of what he says. It takes quick action at a fire and 'Mac' knows it. And it takes rough talk to keep the boys going in flames and smoke that looks, and many times is dangerous. But 'Mac' never sends us where he wouldn't go himself, and he generally leads the way."
On October 30, 1938, the "Invasion of monsters from Mars" (a too realistic radio drama) spread terror all over the country, and in Wichita the effects were the same. Women fainted, hundreds dashed into the streets, phone calls jammed the wires and as the program started, a fire alarm was received for a barn on East Central. The sirens of the fire trucks screamed, and accentuated the terror of those who heard them. The "War of the Worlds" didn't last long, but it did create a lot of excitement, and the fire boys were involved as usual.
Through the efforts of the Civitan Club, Salvation Army, Wichita Eagle and the Wichita Fire Department, some 8,000 children were again given a Christmas party at the "Forum." Thousands of toys had been repaired and painted by firemen as a part of the toy program, which were given to the children as Christmas presents.
Continuation of the Fire Prevention effort in Wichita resulted in a decrease in the number of alarms and a drop in fire loss from $129,163 (in 1937) to $97,280 in 1938. The per capita loss was 83 cents compared to $1.96 for the average U.S. per capita loss. In the N.F.P.A. contest, Wichita was third out of 739 cities competing.
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Related to 09 - H.H. McCall (The Old Man) |
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