Fire Station 31

On Sunday, Castle Green had its annual Christmas open house. (That's Castle Green in the background.) Bellis, Hiker and I tried to go but it was so crowded we opted out. Me + crowds = ugh. Apparently, Hiker and Bellis feel the same way.

We wandered the Old Town Pasadena alleys and took pictures. Old Town has great alleys that harbor secrets even now. We'd just come out of an alley parallel to Fair Oaks Avenue when a fire truck turned in. Within moments, a nice fireman walked toward us and asked if we were lost. "We're just exploring," we told him. So he invited us to explore Fire Station 31.

Fire Station 31, at 135 S. Fair Oaks in Pasadena, has a little museum with a collection of antique fire helmets, tools and other paraphernalia. They also house two original bells from the old fire station on Dayton Avenue, one bell from the building's interior and one from the exterior. But the the centerpiece of the place is this beautiful fire engine, the first motorized fire engine west of the Mississippi, manufactured in 1909 by Seagrave, who still make fire trucks today...

...though the detailing is a little different now.

I'll let you visit Fire Station 31 to see all the little details. The Hiker tells the story differently but it's all true, even the part about her being taller.

L-R: That's me, then Firefighter/paramedic Captain Myron Cooper, the Altadena Hiker, Bellis and firefighter/EMT Carlos Delgado who helped the Captain show us around. Carlos even slid down the pole for us (he was too fast for my camera to catch him). He and Captain Cooper said they're always happy to have visitors, unless of course they have to go fight a fire. But more often than not they don't, so stop in. You want to hope Captain Cooper is there because he's so knowledgeable about the history of the Pasadena Fire Department. Many thanks to them both! We had a great time. And thanks to Daniel Nausha for taking this picture.

Bellis and I decided to get a cup of coffee but Hiker begged off and we said goodbye. As Bellis and I strolled north on Fair Oaks, we heard sirens. Could our timing really be that good?

Sure enough, it was the guys from Station 31.

The turned the corner to head east on Green Street.

The sirens stopped after about a block.

Could it be? That's where Castle Green is.