Part of the larger story of the quake of '06 is how the water mains were wrecked and the firefighters had to stand by and watch the City burn. The San Francisco Fire Department  has its own history of competence and innovation and fire fighting in general had made great strides in technique and technology by 1906. But call it one of the ironies of the disaster—a peninsula surrounded by an ocean and a bay, but no way to get all that water on the flames.

Before the Fire Department became pro in the 1860s, it was all volunteer. Despite overblown legends, there WERE a lot of fires  and the volunteers attacked them with zeal and dash. Companies challenged each others' skills and had mascots. The mascot of Company No. 5 was their neighbor, Lilly Coit , who had cheered them on since she was a kid. She was a socialite, married a rich guy and loved to have fun: most historical accounts portray her as a real pistol. When she died in 1929, she left some money to the City, who built Coit Tower  with the bequest, honoring her and Engine Company No. 5. We have a red pair of Lilly's shoes in the Wells Fargo Archives—size 6.

In Lilly Coit’s time, as modern methods were in development, fire fighters used glass orbs called fire grenades. Firemen would come barreling into the structure armed with these grenades and lob them into the flames. The enclosed salt water solution would ostensibly smother the blaze. Or people bought them and kept them around the house as an antique version of the fire extinguisher—in a variety of colors and styles  to match any décor.