March 27, 2012 – This year, Long Beach Fire Department celebrates 115 years of service to the Long Beach community. On March 16, 1897, at the request of the citizens of Long Beach, 28 charter members signed up as volunteer firefighters and elected Brewster C. Kenyon as captain. After five years and the formation of the city’s board of trustees (what would be considered city council today), citizens were called to a meeting at City Hall on May 27, 1902, to witness the approval of forming a permanent fire department. In its 115th year, the Long Beach Fire Department employs nearly 400 firefighters to protect the city’s nearly 500,000 residents, according to Long Beach Firefighters Local 372 President Rex Pritchard. “We are proud to celebrate this amazing history of firefighter service to the citizens of Long Beach,” he said in the union’s announcement of the anniversary. “Long Beach Firefighters hope to continue this tradition of service for many years to come.” For more information on the history of the city’s fire department, visit the historic Long Beach Firefighter Museum, 1445 Peterson Ave., or online at www.lbfdmuseum.org (pictures below are from inside the museum). Several firefighters commemorated the anniversary with a visit to the Long Beach Firefighters Museum, which houses this 1926 Ahren Fox fire engine. Pictured, top row, from left, are: former firefighters Richie Williams, Bob Eldridge, Chan Brainard and George Brown; Glen Goodrich, museum president; Andy Chan (seated), active firefighter; and former firefighter Milo Brown. Pictured, bottom row, from left, are: former firefighter Tom Mayo, active firefighters Colin Harris and Seward Khem, museum founder and curator Herb Bramley, active firefighter Mike Caputo and Pritchard. (Photographs by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)