HEATHER CASEY
Firehouse.Com News
Despite California's power shortage there is one light bulb there
that will continue to glow this summer, just as it has for the past
100 years.
Firefighters at Station #6 of the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire
Department are celebrating the centennial birthday of the oldest
known, continuously illuminated light bulb in the world.
The 4-watt bulb was given to the department in 1901 and has served as
a nightlight over the trucks ever since, said retired division chief
Lynn R. Owens, who worked around the bulb for 25 years and is now
chairman of the Livermore Lightbulb Centennial Committee.
Since the bulb's age was authenticated in 1972 and entered into the
Guinness Book of World Records, it has attracted worldwide media
coverage and drawn countless tourists to the station to stare at its
soft, enduring glow.
The reason for the bulb's longevity is a mystery.
"We've had some scientists from Lawrence Livermore [National
Laboratories] come out, and some GE engineers. Nobody can figure out
why it just keeps burning," Owens said.
"There are a lot of guesses, but of course we're not going to let
anybody dissect it."
Firefighters didn't pay much attention to the bulb until 1972 when a
local reporter researched the age of the hand blown, carbide filament
bulb made by the Shelby Electric Company.
Until then, firefighters weren't very careful with the strange
looking bulb and even batted it around sometimes.
"I know I'd been guilty of it," Owens said. "We'd give it a little
swing for good luck on the way out, back when we rode on the
tailboard of the engine."
But that changed after the department learned the bulb was donated to
them in 1901 by the owner of the Livermore Power and Light Company,
Dennis Burnal, because he wanted to do something nice for the city
before he sold his business.
In 1901 a light bulb was a big gift, and according to oral history,
it was one of just two bulbs in the town, Owens said.
The purpose of the light was to help firefighters see their equipment
better as they arrived for emergencies in the middle of the night.
"When we realized it was one of a kind it was hands off," Owens said.
"Nobody monkeyed with it after that."
Owens said working near the bulb isn't much different than working at
any other fire station, except for a few things.
"Maybe once or twice a shift you look up to see it's still burning,"
he said. "I think everybody is hoping they're not on duty when the
thing goes out. Hopefully it won't be anyone's fault."
Also, every once in a while, a newspaper, TV or radio station will do
a story on the bulb that sparks a flurry of intense interest for
about a month. Then the bulb temporarily settles back into obscurity,
Owens said.
As far as officials are aware, the bulb was only turned off once, for
about ten minutes, when the department changed locations in 1976,
Owens said.
They transported it in special foam box complete with a police and
fire escort, and had an electrician waiting for it at the new
location. The bulb is now wired into the station's emergency energy
system so that it will not go out in the event of a downed power line
or a famous California black out.
The bulb hangs in the apparatus bay about 15 feet in the air, so
nothing can bump into it. It has no special protection. "We talked
about that when we moved it, but we decided no, it'll be the way it
always has," Owens said.
Although Ripley's Believe It or Not has requested possession of the
bulb when it finally burns out, no one in the city plans to let it
go. "It will stay with the city of Livermore, absolutely," according
to Owens.
Like many other fans of the bulb, Owens finds something inspiring in
its quiet persistence.
"It's kind of a break in this hubbub world," he said. "It keeps doing
its job, never fusses on anybody, asks for a raise or goes on strike.
And it never purposely draws attention to itself."
Based on oral history about the date of the donation, the town of
Livermore is celebrating the centennial of the bulb in mid June, just
before their yearly rodeo.
Owens doesn't believe the bulb will die out any time soon. "It'll
probably burn another 100 years," he said.
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