The measure to lower the working hours passed at the polls March 12, 1946.

An innovation, which made its fire service appearance only recently, became the rule rather than the exception in Seattle in 1946. Chief Fitzgerald had procured radios for a good number of the first‑line apparatus. There also was a stock of war surplus radios which could be moved from truck to truck, thus allowing each company time for pre-fire planning and inspection, while still remaining in service.

Initially, Local 27 remained silent on the issue of sched­uling the work hours under the new three‑platoon system.

The new schedule went into effect at the stroke of midnight, January 1, 1947, using the plan adopted by the City

Council at the recommendation of the Municipal League. The day was divided into three 8‑hour shifts; midnight to

8:00 a.m., 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m. to mid­night. Each member worked six days a week, rotating

between the hourly shifts every couple of weeks.

The reduced hours added over two hundred new fire fighters to the ranks, but still caused the closure of Engine 24 and Truck 5. The fireboat "Duwamish" was moved from her Harbor Island berth to Station 5 on the waterfront, sharing quarters with the Alki. Manpower was removed from the older boat except for an engineer and a pilot. Seattle now had only one in‑service fireboat. The "Duwamish"" became strictly a backup which, when needed, had to be manned by the crew of a land‑based company.

It was not a long trial period before the members decided that the 8‑hour shift afforded an unsatisfactory schedule. A move was underway by Local 27 to have adopted the Los Angeles plan of 8‑hour day shifts with 16‑hour night shifts. The shifts would be scheduled to provide a 48‑hour week. Most of the City Council members contacted said they favored the change, but wanted to wait until after the 1948 primary election before acting on the matter. A revised I 0‑hour day shift with a 14‑hour night shift finally went I into operation on January 1, 1949, after many meetings and discussions involving the Executive Board of the Central Labor Council, representatives of the Municipal League, Chief Fitzgerald, Mayor William Devin, the members of the City Council, and with the endorsement by the Washington State Federation of Labor of a resolution submitted to them on behalf of Seattle Fire Fighters Union Local 27 by member Axel Drugge.

A violent explosion shook the Ballard district in the late afternoon of July 8, 1948. The incident took place at the Lyle Branchflower Company, a fish oil plant at 4502 Shilshole Avenue. A leak had developed in a pipe, which transferred a highly volatile solvent from storage tanks to the working area where it was needed to separate the fat from the oil in processing halibut livers. The explosion of the fumes demolished a major portion of the plant and ignited the debris and fish oil from ruptured tanks. The blast blew a railroad tank car alongside the building off its tracks, knocked down many power poles and wires, and shattered windows in the drawspan control tower of the nearby Ballard Bridge, Three plant employees were killed in the blast and another was blown through a doorway suffering multiple fractures and serious burns. Three other workmen had been in the warehouse area and escaped by leaping aboard a passing fishing boat. Eight fire fighters were injured; most by contact with live electricity from the downed power lines. One suffered a severe bum. The first alarm was at 5:34 p.m., with a 2‑11 two minutes later. The fire was "tapped out" quickly at 6:36 p.m., but fire burned in the debris for more than twenty‑four hours. Fire companies remained on the scene as a fire watch and to search for possible victims. They had to contain three major flare‑ups in the ruins during that time.

On the night of July 19, 1949, a two‑engine C‑46 transport plane operating on a charter flight took off from Boeing Field with twenty‑eight passengers and a crew of four. Very shortly, one engine went dead and the plane dropped, slicing through a row of power lines. The pilot managed to veer the plane away from a large power transformer. The plane crashed through the top story of a rooming house at 961 Harney Street, in the Georgetown district. The roof and top floor were knocked onto the house next door. The plane came to rest across the street, demolishing the little brick house at 954 Harney Street. The fuselage cracked in half, which allowed many of the passengers to escape or be carried to safety. About two minutes after the crash, the fire, which had started on impact, ignited the spilling fuel explosively. Fire ignited and destroyed six more dwellings on Harney and Vale Streets. Two passengers had been killed in the crash, as were five occupants of the rooming house, which was initially struck. All other passengers and crew members suffered varying degrees of injuries and burns, along with seven occupants from the involved buildings and three of the responding fire fighters. The first alarm was at 10:0 1 p.m., with a 2‑11 at 10:06 p.m. The fire was controlled shortly after 11:00 p.m., but hot spots still glowed in the wreckage triggering explosions at about 11: 30 p.m., midnight, and 1:30 a.m. The last explosion caused injuries to four more fire fighters.

The big news on the waterfront in 1949 was the complete rebuilding of the "Duwamish". The "Alki" had been repowered with diesel engines in 1948, but the older boat was scheduled for much more. On the ways at Commercial Ship Repair on Bainbridge Island, she was rebuilt with diesel‑electric power. New DeLaval pumps were installed to give her a 22,800 GPM capacity. The hull was streamlined from stem to stern, and the tall old twinstacks of the steamboat were replaced by a modem diesel exhaust stack. The "Duwamish" left the yard practically a brand new boat. In early 1950, after shakedown, she returned to service as the first‑line fireboat. The "Alki" became the backup.

New replacements continued to arrive for the older, worn out apparatus. A second order from Kenworth consisted of nine new engines with 1500 GPM pumps, the largest capacity yet delivered to the Seattle Fire Department. These arrived in November and December of 1949, and in January of 1950. Replacement apparatus for the fleet of old ladder trucks was similarly obtained. Six streamlined city service trucks were ordered from Kenworth which were designed along the lines of a prototype being built on a Diamond‑T chassis in the Department Motor Shop. Bodywork was done by the local Heiser Company. In a break with tradition, all seven of the new trucks were equipped with lightweight aluminum ground ladders. Their delivery began in the summer of 1950. By the end of the year all the older ladder trucks had been replaced.

On March 10, 1950, Chief Fitzgerald's new radio procedure rules took effect. All first‑line units now had two-way radio capability on 33.9 MHz. Some company designators were revised. All truck companies now were called "ladder companies." The two fireboats were redesignated, with first‑line "Duwamish" becoming "Engine 4" and backup "Alki" becoming "Engine 3." This allowed Hose 5 at the fireboat station to be called "Engine 5." That company had been running with a 1250 GPM pumper and its own crew since 1945, but could not be called an engine to avoid confusion with Boat 1, whose crew were assigned as Engine 5. Another level of multiple alarm was part of the new procedure. The "1-11 alarm", a kind of precautionary 2‑11, could be requested. All second alarm companies except the battalion chief would respond, but remain in service, so that only their manpower was utilized. If equipment from the 1-11 companies were needed, they would be placed out of service individually. A full "2‑11 " would place all the companies out of service and bring the additional chief.

Shortly after dawn on July 14, 1950, the owner of the "New Washington Cafe," a small skid road eatery occupying ground floor space in the three‑story commercial building on the southeast corner of 1st Avenue South and Washington Street, noticed a strong smell of gas upon entering his business. Natural gas was still in Seattle's future. This gas was manufactured at a plant on the north shore of Lake Union and delivered by a pipe network to consumers. The cafe owner noticed his kitchen pilot lights had gone out. Upon entering his basement storage area, he found the odor stronger and his family of stray cats asphyxiated. He reported the problem to the gas company and they proceeded to dispatch a service man. Shortly before the service man's arrival, a terrific explosion occurred in the basement, which ripped open the sidewalk outside and ignited fires on all floors of the building. One poor unfortunate, who was walking by at that moment, was killed and his body blown onto the 2nd floor level of the fire escape on the Delmar Hotel across the street. The cafe owner and one of his employees, who had subsequently arrived, were injured. Ten other persons, either on nearby sidewalks or residents of nearby lodging houses, were injured. The blast caused damage ranging from light to severe in buildings as far away as two blocks. First alarm was at 5:34 a.m., 2‑11 at 5:40 a.m., and 3‑11 at 5:42 a.m.

Aircraft again presented the Seattle Fire Department with a problem. On August 13, 1951, a B‑50 bomber left Boeing Field on a shakedown flight after an overhaul. The starboard engines appeared to lose power and the plane veered east, striking the top of the Rainier Brewery and crashing into the large three‑story frame Lester Apartments on a hillside behind  the brewery. The 49‑unit building had been built as the world's largest brothel when Hiram Gill was "tolerance" mayor, but had since gained respect as an apartment building for the working class. The impact destroyed about one‑third of the building and the ensuing fire destroyed the rest. Burning debris and vehicles covered the parking lot. The six crew members on the B‑50 were killed. Five residents and one dog in the apartments were killed. Twelve of the occupants were injured.

Seattle's area was increased for the first time since the 1910 annexation of Georgetown on January 1, 1954. Effective that date, the City annexed all the area between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, north of the City limits to 145th Street. This included fire stations from three former King County fire districts. To cover the area, the Seattle Fire Department added personnel and reestablished Engine Companies 24, 3 1, and 39 in the former volunteer stations. Ladder 5 was reestablished as the truck company for the area at Station 3 1. The 6th Battalion also went back into service, splitting the expanded north‑end area with Battalion 4. On July I of that year, Arbor Heights, south of the West Seattle district, was annexed into the City. The county fire district station there was not used, but a newer pumper acquired in that transaction was assigned to Engine 37.

The Oceanic Trading Company's building remains with us today on the northeast corner of Western Avenue and University Street. On the night of October 30, 1956, though, it appeared that another parking lot might be in the making on that site. An arson fire, set in trash near the rear of the four‑story masonry commercial‑industrial building, had spread up into all floors. Besides the trading company, numerous other firms occupied space in the building for offices, stockrooms, and warehouse area on all floors. Providence was with Fire Fighter Jack Carlson, of Engine 25, on that night. While following a hose line on his hands and knees through the smoky 4th floor, he crawled into the open elevator shaft. A loop of the hose line had slipped down into the shaft. As he fell, Jack managed to grab onto the hose, thus breaking his fall short of the ground floor. Fire fighting was removed to the exterior. Large caliber streams were set up in the streets and on the fire escape balconies of buildings across the rear alley. Though the fire racing through the building's contents was intense, the heavy timber construction of the interior saved the structure from appreciable damage. The first of three alarms was sounded at 8:46 p.m. The fire was not "tapped" until 12:18 a.m., October 31. The response, including special calls, consisted of fourteen engines, five ladder trucks, the fireboat "Duwamish", and a monitor hose wagon.

Fortunately, the night of May 20, 1958, was a calm one in the weatherman's book; otherwise the largest fire in Seattle's history since the Great Fire would have been even larger. The location was Seattle Cedar Lumber Manufacturing, a large mill in the Ballard district. It had been the site of numerous 2 and 3‑alarm fires over the years.

Situated at 4735 Shilshole Avenue, the mill spread over several blocks along the Lake Washington Ship Canal waterway. This fire started, as so many others had, by the buildup of lumber dust and lint on and around the hot steam pipes in one of the many three‑story‑high drying kilns. A sprinkler system could control, but not extinguish, a fire in the densely packed cedar siding. The Seattle Fire Department answered the telephone call at 9:25 p.m. with a full first alarm response of four engines, a ladder truck, and the 4th Battalion Chief. Work on the kiln fire progressed slowly, but according to plan, with fire fighters and mill hands working together to remove lumber from the kiln. Long before the situation was stabilized, however, the kiln's sprinkler system was inadvertently shut down. It was not long before the fire spread explosively. Heat ignited the large lumber storage yard, where stacks of cedar board were piled over five stories high, with every other layer laid crosswise to the one below to permit drying. This "stuck" lumber provided small air channels vertically through every lumber stack. Row after row of the stacks ignited until the entire three block long lumberyard was ablaze, creating a firestorm. Fire spread to six additional dry kilns. The 2nd alarm was struck at 9:42 p.m., bringing four more engines, another ladder truck, and the deputy chief of the 1st Battalion. A 3‑11 alarm a minute later brought four more engines and another battalion chief. As fire crews concentrated on setting up heavy streams to protect the exposed main sawmill buildings, fire raced eastward along the Canal. Destroyed were Seattle Cedar's machine shop and seven drying kilns, the vacant two‑story lumber finishing mill of the Spar Manufacturing Company, and a small frame building used by Halibut Producers' Cooperative. Several other frame industrial buildings across Shilshole Avenue suffered scorching and broken windows in the heat. Fire threatened the rebuilt Lyle Branchflower fish oil plant at 4501 Shilshole Avenue. There, three elevated tanks of fish oil began to bulge in the heat. Their support stands began to buckle, but exposure protection lines were placed into operation to cover them before they could collapse and add more fuel to an already gigantic fire. Fire brands, some as large as five‑foot‑long 2x4's, were carried aloft in the thermal column. Though the smaller brands were found to have landed as far away as two miles, the air remained still. Not a breath of wind stirred that night. Nearby residents, however, did use their own garden hoses to protect their property from the flying brands. A special call was sent out at 9:53 p.m. for four more engine companies and the fireboat "Duwamish." After a fight, during which ten fire fighters, one Harbor Patrolman, and one assisting civilian were injured, the fire was declared contained, but by no means out, at 3:25 a.m. Chief Fitzgerald remained on the scene leading his troops all night, and still reported to his office in the morning. Fire crews were on watch for several days afterward, as debris was removed and hot spots were uncovered. The extent of the fire was exceeded in Seattle history only by the Great Fire in 1889. That record still stands to this day. Loss was estimated conservatively at just under one million dollars, but insurance adjustments later showed it to be higher.

A significant change in the Department, which occurred in the summer of 1958, was the placing in service of six new Ford station wagons with each of the first aid cars. This allowed the placing of a stretcher in each vehicle, which enabled the Fire Department crew to transport critical emergency cases immediately, without having to wait for the private ambulance. Agreements were reached with the private companies whereby patients who were not experiencing a life‑threatening emergency would be treated, but not transported, by the Fire Department's personnel.

History was made shortly thereafter ‑ in January, 1959, to be exact ‑ when the present Chief of Department, Claude Harris, joined the ranks as the first Black fire fighter in the Department.

A landmark structure of sorts was lost in a spectacular fire on the University of Washington campus shortly before midnight on March 31, 1961. Fire, which began in the maintenance area near the power house, destroyed the paint shop and spread to both the plumbing shop and machine shop before entering the large 2‑1/2‑story Air Science Building, home for the U.S. Air Force R.O.T.C. training. Built for the 1909 "A‑Y‑P" world's fair, the plumbing shop had been the dairy barn, and the machine shop the fair's stable building, while the Air Science Building had been a large exhibition hall. All four buildings were well involved in fire when fire fighters arrived in response to the 11:44 p.m. 1st alarm. A 1-11 alarm was struck at 11:50 a.m. and a full 3‑11 at 11:51 a.m. Several fire fighters were temporarily trapped by a section of collapsing wall from the Air Science Building. All that could be done was to protect the power house and other exposures until there remained nothing but hot spots in the ruins. The "tapped" time came at 1: 17 a.m.

In April, 1961, the world's first jet‑powered fire truck was placed in service when Ladder Co. I received a new American La France tillered aerial truck with a Boeing turbine engine. Problems with lack of compression and braking forced the motor's replacement by a Hall‑Scott gasoline engine in August. San Francisco Fire Department placed in service a similarly powered pumper in May of that year.

Two major fires, only a block apart, took place the following winter. The first of these occurred shortly after midnight on November 11, 196 1, in the north end of the Pike Place Farmers' Market Center. Situated on a steep bluff overlooking the harbor, the old structure presents the appearance of a long low enclosure for individual food and produce stalls. However, the backside drops almost five floors to Western Avenue and a maze of additional small shops are contained in the lower levels. The fire, of undermined cause, started in a meat market near the Stewart Street Bridge, a large decorative frame covered skybridge for foot traffic over Western Avenue from the Market Center to the top floor of the Municipal Market Building at 1901 Western Avenue. Fire destroyed approximately twenty small businesses and the office of the Market Master. A section of the back wall collapsed into Western Avenue. Fire flashed through the Stewart Street Bridge where it entered and heavily damaged the upper levels of the Municipal Market Building. The decorative bridge, with its turrets and large clock, was so badly damaged it had to be demolished. The first alarm was at 12:17 a.m. Five fire fighters suffered injuries before the fire was "tapped" at 2:20 a.m.

A block north, at 2015 Western Avenue, stood the old Washington National Guard Armory, looking like a huge brick fort on the bluff overlooking Elliott Bay. The building had been replaced by a new structure near the Civic Center in 1939, and had served a number of uses since. It had survived a 3‑11 fire in 1948 when it housed off ices for the State Unemployment Department and several other government agencies. At this time it was occupied by Bargreen Coffee & Restaurant Supply, as a warehouse for souvenirs, trinkets, and other concession supplies for another world's fair scheduled for the coming months. The first alarm for this fire sounded at 1:50 a.m. on January 7, 1962. Fire destroyed a major part of the interior and contents. The roof was gone. Parts of the brick west wall collapsed onto the Alaskan Way Viaduct, causing the freeway‑like structure some structural damage. The fire was not "tapped" until 3:01 a.m., and the damage necessitated demolition of the old building.

For the second time since 1900 Seattle hosted a world's fair when "Century 21 " exposition opened at its Civic Center site on April 21, 1962, with the 550‑foot‑high "Space Needle" as the landmark structure. "Century 21 provided its own fire protection force to assist the Seattle Fire Department with inspections, testing of fire systems, and public assembly details, as well as with fire fighting operations. A Ford 750 GPM pumper was stationed on the grounds. The crew consisted of twelve retired Seattle fire fighters and five former members of other fire departments. The Chief was retired Seattle Fire Department Captain, Leo Wenner. No major incidents took place on the fairgrounds during its six‑month run.

Chief Fitzgerald retired from the Service in the fall of 1963 after more than fifty‑two years with the Seattle Fire Department, serving as Chief for over twenty‑five of those years. Battalion Chief Gordon F. Vickery was appointed to fill the post by Mayor Dorm Braman on December 10, 1963.