Only the Water Was the Same

In 1882, J.F. Tuffree’s home in Anaheim burned to the ground, and townsfolk figured it was time to reorganize the volunteer fire department.

F.C. Smythe became treasurer of the new Confidence Fire Company No. 1, and that probably led to his son-in-law, Fred Rimpau, becoming its chief.

How seriously Rimpau, a dry-goods merchant, took his new status is reflected in his portrait, above left. He was the first Anaheim fire chief to be photographed in uniform, a uniform he undoubtedly bought with his own money. He probably stepped down after a year, a tradition among volunteer fire companies, which liked to distribute the honor.

Rimpau’s department had only a hand-drawn hose cart, purchased a decade earlier, and a recently acquired, hand-operated pumper, which even the hardiest volunteer could power for only about 15 minutes. Training? Purely on-the-job.

Rimpau would not recognize today’s Anaheim Fire Department, commanded by Fire Chief Jeff Bowman, above right. Today’s department has 269 employees (74 of them paramedics), 10 stations, 17 trucks and engines, five ambulances, a hazardous-materials unit, a swift-water rescue team and a $31-million budget.