LIVERMORE, Calif. (AP) - How many firefighters does it take to change a light bulb. At Livermore's Fire Sttion 1, the question is moot. For nearly a century, firefighters there have been keepers of what is believed to be the longest-burning bulb on the planet. Donated to the department by a local businessman, it has been shining since 1901. The naked bulb, which hangs from the ceiling, is celebrated in Ripley's Believe-It-or-Not and has attracted tourists from as far away as Japan and Australia to this city just east of Oakland. Through earthquakes, fires and riots, the bulb has burned faintly with only short interuptions fot the occassional power outage and a 23 minute respite in 1976 when the station moved locations. The bulb was brought along to the new building. "We gave it (an emergency) code 3," firefighter Jim McCraw remembers. "We had all the trucks out with sirens and lights flashing." Now it has become such an institution that the firefighters worry about the day the bulb burns out. "I'd hate to be on duty if that ever happens," McCraw said. "We'd all be brought in and interogated." |
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