We will get back to Confrontation at Task Force 1 next week. Appreciate the responses from Happy Medic (Justin), FireDaily, firehat, Dal90, Mac, Chief Joe, Dave LeBlanc and Gerald Woodruff.
In this blog item I want to share items related but not vital to the confrontation situation.
CHANGING CULTURAL PRACTICES: ARE YOU WEARING A TIE AT LINE-UP?
Morning line-ups came from the continuous duty worked by the first career crews. When LAFD was established in 1886 the roster for Engine 1 showed a crew of eight. (HERE)
Paid firefighters would get three hours off each day and one complete day off a month. This takes you to a description of the life of a 1904 LAFD firefighter (HERE).
Rule 36 describes the meal process:
The commanding officer shall arrange the meal hours of the members of his company, and file a written report of the same with the Chief Engineer. Members taking three meals per day shall be allowed one hour for each meal, and those taking two meals one hour and a quarter for each meal. No member shall go a greater distance for his meals than three blocks from the house to which he is attached, without permission of the Chief Engineer.
In case of an alarm during meal hours, all members must respond promptly. Members must notify the company commander of the address of their eating place and residence, and of any change therein, and said officer shall keep a record of these particulars concerning every member under his charge.
1901 Rules and Regulations Los Angeles Fire Department (HERE)
Justin Schorr posted a link to a late 1940’s era LAFD training film on Company Response that includes a version of the 0800 line-up (HERE).
I could not find an example of an LAFD line up from the late 1960’s, but if you watch the opening of the pilot episode of Adam-12 “The Impossible Mission” you can get a flavor of the times.
LAPD officers line up for inspection by the lieutenant. (HERE) The inspection starts at the 1:35 minute mark, coming out of the first commercial break. “Remember that in this division you can cut yourself on those shirt creases”
TASK FORCE STAFFING
Station 03 was a Heavy Duty Task Force when Captain I Allen worked there.
That means there was a third staffed pumper assigned to the task force.
In this Los Angeles Library picture, it is Engine 203. Engine 203 is staffed with a Captain and four firefighters.
ROOFJUNKIE, posting in emtbravowest.com, describes the 1971 staffing when his uncle worked at Heavy Duty Task Force 3 (HDTF3):
- Wagon 3, a 50′ snorkel, five firefighters
- Pump 3, one firefighter
- Truck 3, a 100′ tiller aerial, six firefighters
- Engine 203, five firefighters
In addition to the 17 firefighters on HDTF3, there were two assigned to Snorkel 3, a 85′ rig. Two more were assigned to Salvage 3.
Two are assigned to Rescue 3 (ambulance). An earlier version of Rescue 3 shows up on Company Response.
The downtown Civic Center/Bunker Hill area covered by 3’s still runs a lot of fire incidents, ranking in the top ten for the most fire and non-ems incidents (7.8 responses a day for the third quarter of 2009).
MANIFOLD COMPANIES
Manifold Companies were a two-piece company with a duplex pump (rig with TWO 1500 gpm pumps each powered by a V-12 motor) and a manifold wagon with 10 gated discharges and a fireboat-sized deck pipe. 
Engine 3 was one of four companies established in 1937-1938. They were staffed with 10 firefighters and had the capability of supporting up to sixteen 2.5″ attack lines.
Three of the four manifold companies were in the downtown Battalion 1 district. The manifold companies operated until 1964.
The task force configuration started at another 1st Battalion manifold company. In 1966 LAFD established Heavy Duty Task Force 9 at the Center City fire station that used to be called Skid Row. Two more manifold companies, Engines 3 and 27, were reconfigured as heavy duty task force companies in 1971.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR OUR STORY
Station 1 (in 2009) does not show up in any of the top 20 activity lists in a department with 106 fire stations. For our confrontation story, that means Allen left one of the busiest fire-fighting stations as a Captain I to command a slower station as a Captain II.
Mike “FossilMedic” Ward
URBAN COMMANDER is an irregular feature aimed at career staff working in metro-sized fire departments. It will cover topics that were too esoteric, short-term or “sharp” for the Fire Officer: Principles and Practice textbook. Click “Urban Commander” under Categories to get all of the articles.
I will be in Baltimore and headed for the Uno Chicago Grill at the Inner Harbor. 
EMS 2.0 Higher Education Information
A couple of the responses to December’s confrontation at Task Force 1 included a reference to the HBO series “
In 1967 he opened a museum near his home in Apple Valley, California, where he could put his collection on display. In 1976 he moved the collection to a larger facility in nearby Victorville where it remained until after Roy and Dale’s deaths. Roy passed away in 1998 and his beloved wife Dale followed him in 2001. The museum was operated by the Roger’s son, Roy Rogers, Jr., and their grandson Dustin “Dusty” Rogers and the next year they relocated the museum to a 23,000 sq. ft. building in Branson, Missouri, where it remained until its closure this month.
At 6 pm I drive up the service road to the only crowded parking lot in a sprawling shopping complex. HoJo’s is surrounded by dozens of cars, many with out-of-state plates.
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