Huntington Beach receives donation of fire equipment, nearly a century old

The Huntington Beach Fire Department worked hard to fix up the city’s first motorized engine, a 1923 Seagrave Metropolitan Pumper.

Now the department is in possession of the equipment that volunteer firefighters who rode that truck wore about a century ago.

“Whoever wore that helmet, whoever wore that badge, was on this rig at some point in time,” retired firefighter Andre Clarizio said. “That’s pretty cool.”

The Hibler and Honnell families, who remain close, donated a fire helmet from the 1920s or early ’30s and two badges to the Huntington Beach Firefighters Assn. at an informal event last week at the Gothard Fire Training Center.

The fire helmet donated to the Huntington Beach Firefighters Assn.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Dave Hibler donated the helmet, which belonged to his grandfather, Harry Hibler Sr., also known as “Hibby,” the chief for the volunteer fire department at the time. Dave’s cousin Terry was also on hand for the donation.

“My dad had [the helmet] for I don’t know how long,” Dave Hibler said. “Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, there it was hanging in his office … I’m just glad that this has a home and is not just sitting in my house.”

The badges belonged to Roy Honnell, who married Hibby’s sister. Roy’s son Don, a lifelong Huntington Beach resident who’s now age 89, was present at the training center for the exchange.

Family members said Harry Hibler Sr. and Roy Honnell, who both worked for Edison, were very involved in the community through membership in a local Masonic lodge. They also helped start the first Boy Scout troop in Huntington Beach.

Don Honnell, Terry Hibler and Dave Hibler, from left, chat about the 100-year-old fire helmet donated to the Huntington Beach Firefighters Assn. on May 15.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Huntington Beach Mayor Pro Tem Pat Burns also attended the donation event.

Fire department engineers Clarizio and Rex Rysewyk led the charge to restore the antique engine, which was used for about 30 years and eventually reclaimed from a local museum. It reads “The Hib” on the side, in honor of Harry Hibler Sr.

The engine will eventually be displayed together with the helmet, Huntington Beach Fire Chief Scott Haberle said.

“I think legacy is really important to us,” Haberle said. “I think this is that symbol of us respecting legacy, respecting where we came from. It means a lot, especially to have the helmet of the person that they named the rig after.”

The 1923 Seagrave fire engine at the Gothard Fire Training Center.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)