Frank Fowler Loomis

Frank Fowler Loomis (April 2, 1854 – September 19, 1936) was a nineteenth-century American businessman, blacksmith, fireman, engineer and electrician. He was a key manager and director in improving and developing the fire and police departments for the city of Akron, Ohio. Loomis was known for innovating new state of the art electrical-mechanical devices. He developed new style police and fire alarm systems for Akron. He designed and developed the world's first motorized police patrol wagon ("paddy wagon"). This vehicle was an exhibit in the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition. His electrical innovations and inventions were duplicated and put into use by other major cities in the United States. He established the "Loomis Award" for fire service valor and heroism.

Frank Fowler Loomis
circa 1915
BornApril 2, 1854
Akron, Ohio
DiedSeptember 19, 1936(1936-09-19) (aged 82)
Akron, Ohio
OccupationElectrical mechanical engineer
Known forInvented first "paddy wagon"
Notable work
Police and fire alarm systems
Fire alarm telegraph box patent
Frank Loomis with police patrol wagon ("paddy wagon"), circa 1900[1]
1899 publicity photo: Frank Loomis at the wheel. Others are B. F. Manderbach, fire chief; Dr. E. S. Underwood, city health officer; and H. H. Harrison, police chief.[2]

Early life

Loomis was born in Akron to Joseph and Elizabeth (née Taylor) Loomis on April 2, 1854. His father died when he was eight years old in 1862 so he then lived with an uncle at Wadsworth, Ohio, for the next seven years.[3] Loomis attended the local Akron public schools when he grew up as a child. In early 1869, he worked on the Ohio & Erie Canal for a few months. Later that year he went to work at Merrill's pottery workshop for a while and after that took up the blacksmith's trade.[4]

Mid life and career

Loomis became a volunteer fireman in Akron's fire department in 1870. He slept at night at the fire station for potential fires and worked at his outside trade as a blacksmith during the day. His first assignment at the fire department was as a "call man" and would holler as an alarm to get volunteers during a fire.[5] He became a paid fireman at Steamer No. 1 fire station in January 1871 when the current engineer had died.[4]

In 1874, Loomis and a city mechanical engineer by the name of James H. Stanford built four fire alarm telegraph signal boxes at key businesses in Akron. These were located in the city at the Empire hotel, Buckeye Mower & Reaper works, Diamond Match factory, and the old Akron Iron company. It was soon realized that more alarm boxes were needed. The city, however, would not finance this needed improvement. Loomis, the other engineer, and the fire chief bought wire then from a defunct telegraph line to make these upgrade improvements. They wired fifteen miles in Akron to install additional new alarm boxes.[6]

The system first used a telegraph key, but it was realized that the person that operated the key during the emergency could not give the correct signal during the hysteria of a new fire.[6] Loomis then developed an alarm box that worked by turning a crank automatically when the door was opened, giving the correct signal. He patented the alarm box which sent this signal automatically.[7]

The success of the fire alarm system spawned a similar system for the police department that was installed in 1885. Loomis designed an alarm box for police patrolmen requesting a wagon, additional policemen, or required firemen.[8] It was first developed with a telegraph key before a new alarm box style with a pre-installed telephone replaced it.[6] Loomis was promoted to the city's Chief Engineer in 1890 and held that position for 27 years.[9]

Police patrol wagon

In the late 1890s, Loomis started developing a horseless wagon for the police department.[10][11][12] His invention in 1899 became the first motorized police patrol wagon in the world.[13][14][15] The Collins Buggy Company built the carriage weighing 5,500 pounds (2,500 kg) that cost $2,400.[16] The police patrol is sometimes referred to as a "paddy wagon."[17][18] Visitors came from all over the United States to inspect the vehicle and duplicates were made for the police departments of Cleveland, Chicago, and New York City.[2]

The motorized police patrol wagon was an electric vehicle that weighed as a complete unit almost three tons.[19] It came with an alarm gong to alert people it was coming.[10] The police patrol vehicle had a headlight for use after sunset and had a stretcher so it could be used as an ambulance.[12] It had three speeds and could go up to 16 miles per hour (26 km/h).[20] The carriage body of the wagon was built in 1899 by the Collins Buggy Company of Akron to specifications and drawings of Loomis.[21]

The wagon had a seating capacity of twelve people and ran with two 4-horsepower electric motors. The storage batteries of the police wagon had to be charged every thirty miles.[22] It was less expensive to maintain than a team of horses to pull a wagon to do the equivalent work.[23] A special building was constructed to house the unique electric police wagon which consisted of a modern chief's office station.[24] Akron patrolman John Dunkin made the first arrest with the police horseless transport automobile in 1899.[25]

The electric carriage was taken by a mob in the 1900 Akron riot before being damaged and dumped into the Ohio & Erie Canal.[26] It was recovered, repaired, and put into service for an additional seven years.[27] The electric patrol wagon had done 226 police runs by 1901 and had traveled 200 miles in the process of escorting criminals to jail. It was in the Akron police force through 1907, traveling some 16,000 miles (26,000 km) all total in its service.[27] It was then sold out in 1908 as scrap for $25.[12]

Loomis' vehicle was completely overhauled in 1913 by the Selle Company who purchased it in preparation for exhibition in the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco.[28] The historical car of wooden wheels and solid rubber tires was a display of the International Expo.[29][30] In 1917, the Selle Company who had originally supplied the vehicle's gears, dismantled it into parts that were used elsewhere.[2]

Personal life

Loomis married Barbara Grad of Akron on July 10, 1879.[3][4] He retired from the Akron fire department in 1910.[31] He died September 19, 1936.[5] Loomis established by his will the "Loomis Award" for fire service valor and heroism. In the first 50 years of its existence only three firefighters received the award.[32]

References
  1. "Akron's only original police patrol". The Akron Beacon Journal, page 13. Akron, Ohio. May 11, 1907 – via Newspapers.com .
  2. "Henry Ford is Foiled in an attempt to obtain 1899 Akron Electric Police Patrol for Edison Museum at Dearborn". The Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. June 4, 1929. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
  3. Doyle 1908, p. 1096.
  4. Perrin 1881, p. 736.
  5. "Loomis Funeral Wednesday; Called 'Rel Akron Builder'". The Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. September 21, 1936. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com .
  6. "Romance In Career of Man Who Built World's First Auto Patrol and Akron's Signal System". Akron Evening Times, page 13. Akron, Ohio. April 7, 1915 – via Newspapers.com . James Stanford, who was with me in the fire department aided me in putting in four boxes in Akron.
  7. "An Inventive Akron Fireman's Improvement In Boxes". The Summit County Beacon. Akron, Ohio. August 12, 1885. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
  8. "Calling the Wagon". The Akron Beacon Journal, page 5. Akron, Ohio. February 25, 1893 – via Newspapers.com .
  9. "Akron firefighters get valor awards". The Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. September 19, 1986. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com .
  10. "Akron Is In The Lead / First Automobile Patrol Wagon Will Soon Be In Operation". The Akron Beacon Journal, page 9. Akron, Ohio. October 21, 1899 – via Newspapers.com .
  11. "Works All Right". The Akron Beacon Journal, page 8. Akron, Ohio. November 24, 1899 – via Newspapers.com .
  12. Price, Mark J. (June 20, 1999). "The Police Wagon". The Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. p. 135 – via Newspapers.com . Planning began 100 years ago this month on the vehicle that was destined to become the first automobile patrol wagon in the world.
  13. "First in the World". The Akron Beacon Journal, page B003. Akron, Ohio. January 18, 2010 – via Newspapers.com . First in the world. After rebuilding from two more fires, the Collins Buggy Co. made history in 1899 when it built the body for the world’s first motorized police wagon. City electrician Frank Loomis designed the 5,500-pound, battery-powered vehicle,which had a seating capacity for 12.
  14. Nichols, Kenneth (March 23, 1967). "Old News On Patrol". The Akron Beacon Journal, page 66. Akron, Ohio – via Newspapers.com . that the first motorized police patrol wagon in the world roamed Akron streets from 1899 to 1904.
  15. "First in the World". The Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. January 6, 1900. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com . First In the World... Akron's Automobile Patrol Wagon
  16. Price 2015, p. 25.
  17. "Police Car". The Vintage News. 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2018. With a top speed of 18 mph and a range of 30 miles with the batteries fully charged, this 5,000-pound “paddy” wagon was equipped with electric headlights, a gong, and a cell for prisoners.
  18. Childress 2005, p. 46.
  19. Lake, John David (August 14, 1999). "Ask the Auto Historian". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com . Along came inventor Frank Fowler Loomis who designed and constructed a "Five thousand five hundred pound, Six horsepower Patrol wagon that could attain a speed of Sixteen miles per hour!"
  20. Kane 1997, p. 275.
  21. Wager 1975, p. 236.
  22. Price 2015, p. 26.
  23. "The Auto Patrol / Cheaper to Maintain than a team of horses for the purpose". The Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. February 9, 1904. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com .
  24. "This Week 100 Years Ago". The Akron Beacon. Akron, Ohio. September 26, 1999. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com . This Week 100 years ago Work began on building a station for the world's first electric police patrol wagon.
  25. Robertson 2011, p. 604.
  26. Price 2017, p. 19.
  27. Chilton 1908, p. 265.
  28. "Akron First to use Auto Patrol /Old Machine Will be on Exhibition Exhibition at Panama Exposition". The Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. May 16, 1913. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
  29. Police Journal 1917, p. 10.
  30. "Country's First Auto Patrol at Panama Exposition". The Akron Beacon Journal, page 12. Akron, Ohio. July 4, 1913 – via Newspapers.com .
  31. "F. F. Loomis has Retired". The Akron Beacon Journal, page 1. Akron, Ohio. February 1, 1910 – via Newspapers.com .
  32. Carney, Jim (September 19, 1986). "Akron firefighters get valor awards". The Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. p. 46 – via Newspapers.com .

Sources
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