Fallbrook fire fighting goes from bucket brigade to social media

Lynn Sakamoto-Kay

Special to the Village News

As the impending fire season swiftly approaches, Fallbrook residents hope to be untouched by the ravages of past infernos, but they can be certain fire protection services have come a long, long way. In the early years of Fallbrook, firefighting was rudimentary. Water was in short supply and by 1885 – 16 years after the first recorded settlement by the Reche family – fighting fires relied on a bucket brigade. Sometimes, fires were just left to burn themselves out.

As the town grew, however, the threat of fire grew more ominous.

"A 1904 stove fire in a barber shop on the northeast corner of Main and Alvarado raised a concern about the possibility of a major fire destroying all of the buildings in the downtown area," said Fallbrook Historical Society President Roy Moosa.

In fact, the fire spread to neighboring businesses including the Fallis Brothers' General Store, reducing to ashes the entire block between Alvarado and Hawthorne. As a result, in 1907, local business owners installed a water system to protect their stores.

"A gasoline-driven pump and an elevated 10,000-gallon water tank were constructed where the Arts and Cultural Center is today," added Moosa. "That was the first step toward formal fire protection."

Subsequently, in 1911, G.A. Byron was named fire warden for the district, followed by Henry Ellis in 1912, and Fred White in 1916. In 1921, John Clark became the first California Division of Forestry fire warden assigned to Fallbrook. Still, firefighting remained unsophisticated.

In her book, "TRIBUTE: Profile of San Diego County's Fire Departments," Pearl Ellis said, "When a fire occurred, John Clark would hand out canteens, wet sacks, shovels and other equipment to anyone in sight and direct them to fight the fire."

In 1922, the Fallbrook Public Utility District was incorporated to supply water from a reservoir and a well to serve the needs of the downtown area, consisting of approximately 500 acres. A new 200,000-gallon reservoir was erected near the corner of Minnesota and Dougherty Streets, 185 feet above the heart of Fallbrook.

Another big step took place in 1926 when the first piece of firefighting equipment was purchased – a hose and cart – which could be pulled by hand or towed to a fire by someone's truck. It arrived in November 1927.

The Fallbrook Enterprise newspaper captured the moment of its arrival, saying:

"The new fire hose, which arrived in Fallbrook Friday, has attracted much interest, giving to every resident of the community a feeling of protection, which is worth the several hundred dollars it has cost."

The hose and cart, which are now housed at the Fallbrook Historical Society Museum, marked the beginning of another wave of improvements to firefighting in Fallbrook.

A Model A Ford fire truck was acquired in 1928 under the auspices of the CDF, followed by the organization of the Fallbrook Volunteer Fire Department in 1930. The department, said FHS Historian Tom Frew, had a "long, colorful history of holding dances, fairs, parades and other fundraisers to finance the organization," including the purchase, in 1931, of a one-year-old Dodge fire truck.

Progress continued with the nomination of Bob Aaberg as fire chief in 1930.

According to Moosa, Aaberg soon announced that "Ed Myers would grant the Fire Department use of his lot in the rear of the Hill Shoe Store for the site of a firehouse. One estimate on the material and construction for a firehouse to accommodate two trucks was given at $393.80."

A succession of other notable fire chiefs continued, including Carl Palm in 1932, Carroll Huscher in 1934, and Bill Thurber in 1942. The department, however, was disbanded in 1945 when most of the volunteer firefighters, including Thurber, marched off to fight in World War II.

Two years later, in 1947, Chief Thurber returned and reestablished the Fallbrook Volunteer Fire Department with 13 core volunteers. The district office was located at his weld shop at 1019 S. Main Ave., the current location of the Firehouse Broiler.

Thurber, the longest serving fire chief in Fallbrook history, is considered an icon in his field. Under his leadership, a resuscitator was purchased in 1948 through the solicitation of community donations and a sizable contribution from the Rotary Club. That equipment, too, is housed at the Historical Society Museum.

Thurber also implemented use of short-wave radios between units, stations and aircraft, making it the first fire department in the state to do so. In addition, Thurber donated his one-ton 4X4 military truck, which was converted into a water tanker. He became the first fire marshal when the Fallbrook Local Fire District was formed in 1953, then reorganized in 1961 as the Fallbrook Fire Protection District. In 1987, the district merged with the Rainbow Volunteer Fire District to form the North County Fire Protection District.

Ellis, in her book, said Thurber was known to drive a Jeep in the 1950s, accompanied by his Dalmatian, "Lady." He retired in 1976 and passed away in 1996.

FHS member Nile Peterson's father, Arlan, worked as a volunteer firefighter under Thurber in the 1950-1960 timeframe, achieving the rank of assistant chief.

"When I was a kid, an old siren on the top of the hill tower by the current Ivy Street station would go off when a fire was identified, signaling all volunteer firefighters to respond," he recalled. "As time went on, the siren was replaced by a little bell box attached to a wall in our house that was triggered by a local operator. After that, a one-way radio sent out a call-out to personnel."

Peterson also recalled one of his "best memories" during his dad's 20 years with the Fallbrook Fire District.

"The firefighters would decorate one truck during the Christmas holiday and us kids would climb on board with our dads," he said. "We would drive around the neighborhood singing Christmas carols, then return home where our moms had homemade donuts and hot cocoa waiting for us."

The fire district today

Thurber was succeeded by Andy Vanderlaan as fire chief in 1976, serving until 1996. Another FHS member, Don McLean, Jr., served as a fire captain under Vanderlaan. His father, Don McLean, Sr., served as a volunteer firefighter under Thurber in the 1950s and early '60s, rising to the rank of assistant chief. Vanderlaan was followed by Ed Burcham from 1996 to 2003, then William Metcalf from 2003 to 2015.

Chief Metcalf, who also served as CEO of the district, oversaw the rebuilding of the aging Station 3 in 2008, and the building of a new Station 5 in 2014. He also helped develop a comprehensive assessment and strategic plan to guide the future of the district. This included a baseline assessment that compared the district to national standards and common practices. This plan remains a compass that guides the district's activities and priorities today. He retired in 2015 and was succeeded by Stephen Abbott who served from 2015 to 2021.

Chief Abbott began his career with the district in 1990 as one of the first paramedics. He later became a shift battalion chief, an emergency medical services chief and then a division chief for administration. He served as deputy fire chief from June 2015 to September 2015.

The current fire chief, Keith McReynolds, also has a long history with the district, starting in 1990 when he joined as a fire explorer scout and then served as a reserve firefighter.

"I grew up watching the 'Emergency' television show and it instilled in me a desire to be a firefighter," he said. "I grew up in Vista, but they did not have an Explorer Program, so I joined the Fallbrook program."

Chief McReynolds attended the Palomar Community College Fire Academy, where he earned his paramedic certification. He went on to earn an Associate of Science in Fire Administration at Santa Ana College, a Bachelor of Applied Science in Fire Science Administration at Waldorf University, and a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership/Emergency Management Leadership from Waldorf University.

What does he find most challenging in his new position?

"As we enter the fire season, the mitigation of risks is definitely one of our primary focus areas," he said. "We recently launched a new community outreach task force that is working hard to build better collaboration with our residents to ensure their safety."

Outreach efforts, said McReynolds, include a significant social media presence through a shared position with the Fallbrook Health District.

"My personal mantra is 'North County First,'" he said. "We need to improve our fire safety and preparedness by working closely with our community and through enhancing our capabilities with software system upgrades, apparatus replacement, facilities and training."

The North County Fire Protection District encompasses 92 square miles, including the communities of Fallbrook, Bonsall and Rainbow, with a total population of approximately 50,000. The district includes five stations, all of which are staffed with full-time, paid personnel and single-role paramedics and EMTs. The district also provides emergency medical services for 40 additional square miles outside the primary service area.

In recent years, the North County Fire Protection District has provided invaluable assistance in the devastating 2003 Cedar, Paradise and Otay fires; 2007 Rice fire; 2014 Highway fire, and the 2017 Lilac fire.

NOTE: Sources of information for this article included:

- Fallbrook Historical Society (fallbrookhistoricalsociety.org)

o > Fallbrook History > Fallbrook Video History > The History of Firefighting in Fallbrook by Roy Moosa (also available on YouTube)

o > Fallbrook History > Newsletter Archives > Quarterly Newsletter – The Historian > 2016-2020 > Winter 2020 (Origins of the Fallbrook Fire Department written by Tom Frew; edited by Marianne Dickey)

o > Fallbrook In Review (eight-volume book set)

- North County Fire Protection District (www.ncfire.org)

- "TRIBUTE Profile of San Diego County's Fire Departments" by Pearl Ellis