Presented by Charles Cahill and Associates and produced with the cooperation of the Arcadia Fire Department, this early 1960s film looks at the training and work of the Arcadia (CA) Fire Department’s firemen, who are always “on guard.” The film shows footage of a wildfire burning a hillside in the evening (00:47), then it cuts to a red fire engine leaving a fire station (00:58) and racing through town. Back at the station, firemen maintain the fire engines (02:02; 04:30). In a classroom, a group of firemen trainees study (02:17), then they train by climbing an aerial ladder (02:43) and jumping off a training tower onto the safety net, demonstrating proper technique to avoid injury. The trainees wear gas masks to deal with smoke during a training simulation (03:30). The film then shows several firemen working atop a burning roof (03:51; 09:26). The fire alarm sounds at the fire station (05:00), waking the men up; the firemen quickly go down to the ground floor by pole or slide. The firemen put on their gear (05:27) and board the fire engines. Firemen roll up a hose (05:43), train, and clean and care for their equipment. The men move a moveable tower that extends up to 80 feet (06:26). A fireman goes door-to-door (06:41), showing residents potential fire hazards in and around their homes, including combustibles piled together. The film also reviews how old electrical wires can start a fire. A shot of a mountain burning behind a neighborhood (07:41) precedes the firemen arriving to fight the fire (08:00). A plane dumps retardant on the wildfire (08:07), then the firemen spray water from a fire hose (08:35; 10:28). The film concludes with footage of a fire from a burning oil refinery (08:52) and a home so engulfed in flames that the studs are the only part of the house left visible amid the roaring fire (09:34).

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com