Fireman John C. "Red"
Hough
By Bill Goss
THE big red-headed fellow used to pass the
engine house at Seventh and Santa Fe daily on his way to and from work at the nearby Los
Angeles Ice and Cold Storage plant. In seemingly no time "Red" became
acquainted with the gang and often used to drop into the house for a cup of java and to
participate in the ever present bull sessions. One day Captain Wesley Augustine, in
charge of the engine at 17s said: " 'Red' why don't you join up with the fire
department. This department needs men and we certainly could use you?"
"Red" mused it over for a while and said. "Well, Cap, if I could
work down here I believe I would like to be on the department, but if they will send me to
some of the districts farther out, it will be no deal." The officer assured him
that he could take care of that minor detail and thus it was that on June 5, 1918, John C.
Hough came to the department.
Hough fitted into the department work and routine like a glove and with his
inherent warm and affable manner soon had a wealth of friends. The day that 17s
received their first motor powered wagon to replace the horse drawn one, "Red"
went to the shop and drove it back to quarters. On the morning of December 30, 1920,
"Red" was busy working in the yard back of 17s when a man came running in to
tell of his fellow worker being overcome with poisonous gas while fumigating the nearby
Albers Brothers Milling Co. building. "Red" dropped what he was doing and
quickly sped to the scene. There he found that employees of the Pacific R & H
Chemical Co. in the process of feeding deadly cyanide gas fumes from a hose into the
windows of the building had let the hose get away from them and that the fire escape
balcony from which they worked was permeated with the deadly fumigant. Somehow all
the men but one managed to get away and this one lay in an inert huddled heap a couple of
floors above, with the gas still spewing from the hose. Without so much as a
moment's hesitation "Red" was up the stairs and gathering up the unconscious
victim made a quick return to the ground. Artificial respiration along with
inhalators and hospital treatment soon had the man back on his feet but the fact that he
was alive was due only to "Red's" split second thinking and quick acting with
absolute disregard for his own safety. For this heroic act John Hough was awarded
the Medal of Valor which honor has not been conferred upon a member on the department
since, but unless you heard about it from outside sources you never would have been aware
that he possessed such an award. "Red" in his modest way, was never known
to have mentioned it.
On December 1, 1923, Captain Augustine was promoted to the rank of Battalion
Chief, was assigned to Battalion 7 on the B platoon, and he took Red with him to be his
operator. A short time later, June 16, 1924, "Red" was promoted to
autofireman. From then on it seemed as though the men with the gold buttons competed
in getting "Red" to be their operator. Chief Augustine lost him to
Assistant Chief Edwards, who in turn lost him to Deputy Chief McDowell, and when Bert
Blade succeeded Chief McDowell as Deputy Chief he to kept "Red." It was
while operating for Chief Blake that "Red" answered his last alarm, the one that
was to result in his death.
Over on Broadway the fire in the Gray building was rapidly getting out
of hand on November 6, 1939, and when the 9-2-1133 came in for that fire "Red,"
driving Chief Blake who responded on the second, rolled to his last big fire. It was
while "Red" was leading the rescuers in an attempt to extricate the body of John
Kacl that he was injured, although at the time neither he nor anyone else realized it.
As they had just about uncovered Kacl's body another of the upper floors came
crashing down upon them and amid this debris "Red" was struck across the helmet
by a heavy floor joist. Dazed, he went outside and sat on the curb to rest a minute
and sort of sweep the cobwebs away. He continued working despite a severe headache
which lasted for several shifts. A few days later, while driving for Chief
Augustine, who was acting as Deputy, "Red was out at 66s sleeping in, when about 4:30
in the morning he awoke to find himself in a paralyzed condition and unable to stand.
The ambulance and doctor were called from the 77th street police station and Dr.
Paulson, who responded, could find no evidence of paralysis. The spell wore away and
at 7:30 of the same morning "Red" drove the Chief back to headquarters.
"Red" went off duty that morning and decided that a few day's rest would
bring him around to his old self again. The rest seemed to agree with him and to be
doing some good until the morning of December 11 when he had another spell of the
paralysis. Once again Dr. Paulson of the 77th street station responded and by now
believed that "Red" might have a possible ventral hemorrhage of the brain.
This belief prompted him to bring "Red" into the Receiving Hospital at
9:09 a.m. About noon time "Red" was once again feeling pretty good and was
sitting on the edge of the bed talking to Chief Blake, when all at once he folded up and
slid off onto the floor. He was quickly placed in bed and Rescue 23 was summoned to
provide assistance in breathing but despite this "Red" passed away at 7:40 p.m.
John C. Hough was born in Boulder, Colorado, November 7, 1893, and
was survived by his widow, Helen C. Hough. Funeral services were held at the Bramble
Funeral Home on December 15, 1939, and further services were conducted at Forest Lawn by
the Builders' Club, the Masonic order of which he was a prominent member. Among a
long list of prominent honorary pall bearers, the active bearers were Bert M. Blake,
W. H. Augustine, A. W. MacDougall, William Barclay, C. A. Halter, and G. C. McKee.
Thus "Red" Hough passed on to join the man he had so valiantly attempted
to save in the fire gutted Gray Building.
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