Santa Monica was originally served by the Crawford Hook and Ladder Co., beginning in 1875. Subsequently Robert Eckart, who helped organize the Los Angeles Fire Department, and William Jackson organized the Santa Monica Hose, Hook and Ladder company in 1889. They had a cart equipped with some axes, ladders and one thousand feet of hose, which they placed in the old engine house on Oregon Avenue (Santa Monica Boulevard). Volunteers comprised the work force for the department early on.Information from: Santa Monica Fire Department 1889-1989 by Kevin M. Archer (c1989) and Ingersoll's Century History of Santa Monica Bay cities by Luther A. Ingersoll (1908); photograph from Santa Monica Image Archives at http://digital.smpl.org/
