by Joshua Sens STAFF WRITER Firefighter Jim McCrw isn't scared of the dark. But he would be Afraid to see the light go out. "I'd hate to be on duty if that ever
happens," McCraw said. The light, of course, is the famous naked
bulb that has shined faintly from the ceiling of Fire Station
1 for close to a century. Since then, it has kept glowing and glowing,
except for an Over time, the bulb has become a quirky tourist
attraction, |
It has popped up in newspaper and radio reports
across the Charles Kuralt has featured it in his TV special,
No wonder firefighters such as McCraw would
hate to see "I figure if that happened, we'd all
be brought in and No such fate is likely to befall the bulb,
which was designed Manufactured in the valley by the now-defunct
Shelby It burns at low wattage, and has been spared
the wear-and-tear Reliable though it is, you wouldn't want to
read by it; the |
Back in 1901, when local businessman Dennis Bernal gave the Bulb to the department, firefighters used it as a night light. But in those days, the light was hung from
a lengthy cord, "It was also realy common back then to
come into the station and gave the bulb a swing with your hand,"
McCraw said. "We never really worried that it would Today, the bulb hangs high above the station
on a "We gave it a Code 3," said McCraw,
referring to the code word for an emergency. "We had all
the trucks out with sirens and lights flashing. It was like the
O. J. Simpson chase we moved it so slowly down the |