It’s International Firefighters Day, and we’re turning the heat up to recognize our local heroes and first responders with a little history.
May 4 is International Firefighters Day, established to honor firefighters for their service. With fortitude and bravery, our local first responders head into emergencies with skills ablaze, ready to extinguish flames, abate injury and buffer safety for all.
The photos below tell two stories of many in La Jolla. First, the fierceness of some of Station 13’s firefighters today, a modern retelling of the past, which is shown in an undated photograph from more than 100 years ago.
The rest of the photos are a modern retelling, though the fierceness of Station 13’s firefighters is still evident, more than a century later.
The legacy of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department began May 17, 1869, as the Pioneer Hook & Ladder Co with a volunteer staff of 50 people.
The department acquired its first engine company, Company 1, in 1872, a horse-drawn wagon with 12 buckets hanging over the side.
A series of large blazes in the 1880s led to a San Diego City Charter amendment in August 1889 establishing the San Diego City Fire Department, which started with 41 men, 11 horses, two steam fire Engines, one hose wagon, two hose carts, one hook & ladder and 4,000 feet of hose.
Restructuring of city services in 1998 brought the Lifeguard Service under the direction of the Fire Chief and the San Diego Fire Department was renamed San Diego Fire and Life Safety Services; the name has remained the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department since 2002.
Today, the department operates 52 fire stations throughout the city of San Diego, with nearly 1,000 firefighters.
The department’s teamwork and dedication is showcased daily in La Jolla via the crews of the three – sometimes four – fire stations serving La Jolla.
Fire Station 13 at 809 Nautilus Street, first opened in 1913 at 7877 Herschel Ave and was rebuilt at the same location in 1937.
The station moved to its current Nautilus location in March 1976 and was remodeled and reopened in 2007; the Herschel Avenue building is now a satellite location for La Jolla’s YMCA.
Fire Station 9 opened in November 1979 at the base of “The Throat” at 7870 Ardath Lane; the personnel at Station 9 are all firefighter/paramedics, are responsible for orientation and continued training of field paramedics and maintenance of emergency medical equipment.
Fire Station 16, atop Mount Soledad, was opened in September 1982 at 2110 Via Casa Alta, though it was originally placed near Downtown San Diego and the harbor at the Santa Fe Wharf.
Fire Station 52 is the newest station to house our local heroes, opened in October at North Torrey Pines Road and Genesee Avenue to serve UC San Diego, the Torrey Pines Mesa and University City, with the region’s first electric fire engine and 14,000 square feet of space.
Fire Station 52 and future stations and upgrades to come will ensure our firefighters are able to serve San Diego’s growing communities well into the future.
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