National Register visit 184: Fireboat Ralph J. Scott. This 99-foot fireboat served the Port of LA from 1925-2003, making her the longest-serving apparatus in LA Fire Department history. Known as LA City No. 2 for her first 40 years on the water, she participated in nearly every major fire in and around the Port, from tanker explosions to warehouse fires. Her crew even developed equipment and techniques for fighting fires UNDER the wharf. These days, the Ralph J. Scott’s riding out her retirement in style, in a steel-framed tent on the San Pedro harbor, just north of Fire Station 112. She’s lovingly tended by the LA Fire Department Historical Society, which has been gradually restoring her over the past 20 years. You can visit this majestic piece of firefighting history most Saturdays.
Thank you to Larry Schneider, owner of LAFire.com and a retired LAFD Captain, for kindly granting permission to use the historic photos.
Historic Photo Credits, in order:
📷Fireboat crew, 1941 (Official LAFD photo / LAFire.com)
📷Cover of The Firemen's Grapevine, March 1988 (Photo by Mr. Wilton S. Tifft / via LAFire.com)
📷LA City No. 2 under construction, 1925 (Official LAFD photo / LAFire.com)
📷Ralph J. Scott on his 16th anniversary on the job, 1935 (LA Times Photographic Collection / @UCLALibrary Department of Special Collections)
📷LA City No. 2 in its new boathouse, ca. 1926 (Captain Denny Willahan Collection / LAFire.com)
📷San Pedro Waterfront Fire, May 14, 1941 (Captain Duane Warth Collection / LAFire.com)
📷LA City No. 2 battles its first major fire aboard the lumber schooner Sierra, March 3, 1926 (LAFire Collection)
📷Official LAFD photo, ca. 1925
📷Fireboat crew, 1960 (Official LAFD photo / LAFire.com)
I'm visiting all the landmarks in LA County listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Read more about this one and many more at etandoesla.com...
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