Still Standing After All These Years

Part 18: The Glendale Fire Department, the Bell, Harry MacBain and Frazier Mountain Park, 1925

By Katherine Peters Yamada, February, 2026
Photos from Glendale History Room unless otherwise noted

A bell was installed in Glendale’s first fire station in 1908. By the late 20s it was no longer in use and soon forgotten. Now, this historic bell has resurfaced.

120 years ago, before Glendale became a city, emergency services were provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department.

With cityhood - in 1906 - came police and fire services, with one department, headed by Marshal Orron Patterson, providing both. However, there was no budget for fire-fighting equipment until the following year, when voters approved a bond issue of $25,000 for that purpose.

One of the first projects was installing fire hydrants on principal streets. Water was in short supply at the time, causing low pressure, so a local plumber was hired to figure out a solution. He constructed a segment of a two-and-a-half-inch pipe with a gate valve at the end, and, according to Carroll Parcher, writing in Glendale Area History, these ‘hydrants’ served their purpose. The so far unidentified plumber installed the hydrants in his spare time, completing the installations in 1910. His bill was $1,931.51.

That same year, the city’s Board of Trustees ordered a thousand feet of two-and-a-half-inch hose for $715, along with a wagon at $100, a horse for $275 and a harness for $54.25. A small, open shed was built on Howard Street, north of Broadway, to house the equipment. The horse was quartered at a nearby livery stable.

Telephones were rare at the time, and the newly installed hydrants were few and far between. Parcher wrote that, when informed of a fire, someone was instructed to fetch the horse, bring it to the wagon shed, hitch it up and drive as fast as possible to the burning structure, which, by this time, was often beyond saving. Pictured are two of the many equine-related services at the time: Glendale Livery Stables, owned by T.O. Pierce (photo 1909), and Lund Horse Shoeing, near city hall (photo 1914).

First Fire Station Built in 1908

Property was soon purchased on Howard Street and, in 1908, a one-story, brick building, measuring 25 by 30 feet, was constructed. According to GPD sergeant and historian Teal Metts, “there were matching double doors both front and rear, so the horse-drawn fire apparatus could pull in the back and be pointed out the front, exactly like they run their trucks today.” The horses were housed in a nearby stall.

The new fire station was topped by a tower housing a bell. According to Metts’ research, the bell was made by Charles Singleton Bell in Hillsborough, Ohio. Based on the text he could see from examining recent photos, he estimates that it was made between 1894-1907.

The new fire department faced its first major fire on June 9, 1910. It began at the Valley Lumber Company, owned by Clyde H. Boyd and Frank Bortelle, at Fourth Street (now Broadway) and Maryland. The clerk who discovered it sent word to the fire department, which rang the bell to summon firemen and volunteers. By the time they arrived, the building was beyond saving, so the men focused on preserving neighboring structures. Losses were estimated at $10,000.

By 1912, Glendale’s population was increasing rapidly and had grown in size from two square miles to eight. But the city’s fire equipment was still just one horse and a wagon, some hoses (with a separate hose reel) and one paid fireman, H.M. Miller, who served as both fire chief and as the city’s marshal.

Parcher speculated that the huge fire of 1910 finally persuaded the trustees to call for another bond election to improve fire fighting operations. A ‘motor-driven’ fire engine was ordered in 1913.

It was a ‘red letter’ for the city when the new Knox engine, painted white, with ‘Glendale Fire Department’ lettered on each side, was delivered. Equipped with two 40-gallon chemical tanks, 1500 feet of 2 1/2-inch hose and 200 feet of one-inch chemical hose, it cost $6,250. Parcher wrote that the entire Board of Trustees came to inspect the new engine. “In their enthusiasm, they decided to give it a little public exposure. So, with bells clanging, they drove it all over Glendale.”

The new engine was stored in a garage operated by A.H. Lankford on Broadway. Lankford was hired to drive the engine as needed, both day and night; requiring him to sleep in the garage at night. He was paid $80 per month. The horse and wagon were sold that December.