ORANGE COUNTY ALMANAC : Trailblazers
In 1883, Santa Ana purchased its first firefighting equipment: a horse-drawn water-pumping wagon.
There were no hydrants. When a fire broke out, someone would run to the waterworks on West 1st Street to tell workers to blow the fire whistle. Volunteer firemen could tell from the code of short blasts from the whistle what part of the city was on fire.
Source: “Reflections in Orange,” by Warren Morgan
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