Fire Engine Tours Across the Golden Gate Bridge

By George Medovoy, Editor

It’s everyone’s secret fantasy – to ride on a big red, shiny fire truck… and maybe even slide down the fire pole.

Marilyn and Robert Katzman operate San Francisco Fire Engine Tours & Adventures… with the emphasis on Adventures.

While you’re on your way to the office, the Katzman’s are getting up in their 105-year-old Victorian firehouse, ready to head out in their classic 1955 Mack fire truck for another load of tourists… and a spectacular ride across the Golden Gate Bridge.

I was recently one of those lucky "tourists," but my experience started at their home – once the city’s southernmost active firehouse on Broad Street.

(The clouds roll in under the Golden Gate Bridge, the route of San Francisco's Fire Engine Tours)

I knew exactly what to expect when I rang the doorbell – Marilyn had forewarned me in an email: "George, we have a spirited Dalmatian (appropriately named Sadie LaFlame), and when you ring the doorbell, she will bark madly. I will put her into a cage until… she knows that you are a guest and she can stop protecting us.

"Please do not be frightened of her barking…. She is a sweet dog, but she has a job to do, and that job is to protect the old firehouse."
When I rang the doorbell, sure enough, Sadie started to bark, and when Robert answered the door, I stepped into a time when horses pulled steamers.

Robert, beard and all, was dressed in an authentic nineteenth-century red fireman’s uniform with flaming suspenders and bell hat.
I looked around for Marilyn, but she was still tending to Sadie LaFlame in another room. Robert talked about the firehouse, which replaced horses with fire engines in 1921.

All of a sudden, and quite to my astonishment, Marilyn, a former professional tap dancer and percussionist, made her grand entrance by sliding down the fire pole. She, too, was dressed in a traditional uniform, with red shirt and bell hat.

The three of us stood on the original floor of Firehouse 33, where horses once waited to gallop off to the fires.

The beautiful ‘55 Mack fire truck has replaced the horses, but you can still see where the harnesses were hung.

The firehouse duo collects all sorts of memorabilia, including San Francisco fire alarms and toys; a 1902 helmet once worn by a lieutenant attached to the firehouse; and, as dedicated fans, even San Francisco Giants pennants and posters.

"We love our firehouse," Marilyn said. "It was built in 1896, so next April it’s going to be 106 years old."

The Katzman’s came to their way of life by accident, as artists seeking more working space.

"A friend mentioned that this firehouse was up for auction," Marilyn recalled. "So we came over and looked at it, and…Robert and I said, ‘Oh, my God, this is us. This is where we’re meant to be.’"
That was in 1977, and the Katzman’s have lived in the firehouse ever since, even raising their son in it, too.

"We both love San Francisco," said Marilyn. "To be able to own and live in a piece of the history and share it with people is something…special."

Everywhere in the firehouse you find history, like the old pinball machines and a 1915 piano with the original sheet music for "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."

In the kitchen sits a working Wedgwood stove. "We love cooking here," said Robert, just like firefighters loved cooking at the firehouse."

One of the liveliest features of the firehouse is Sadie LaFlame, a spirited Dalmatian.

Said Robert: "If the dogs weren’t hanging out with the horses, they were usually up here. Dalmatians liked to run with the horses, but when firehouses became motorized, the dogs became mascots."

The nearby officer’s bedroom -- which belonged to the Katzman’s son – has a bed adorned with a toy Dalmatian and firehouse-design pillowcases!

The big, 60-foot dormitory, the Katzman’s living quarters, has Marilyn’s dancing shoes and a Plexiglas sheet, where she did a little dance routine for me. Marilyn once performed with Donald O’Connor and did a lot of TV.

But her biggest claim to fame as a dancer may be her entry into the Guinness Book of Records, tap dancing with 12 other dancers 9.61 miles across the Golden Gate Bridge and through the streets of San Francisco!

"And the Captain (husband Robert)," she tells a tour group, "went backwards the whole way, video taping it."

Before the ride, I asked if I could slide down the fire pole. Marilyn and Robert said "sure," but with this very simple advice: "Hug the pole."

Well, I held on for dear life -- all 30 feet of the way -- and slid down more like a snail than a fireman. My hosts cheered me on, and with a little practice, I knew that I could be just as fast as those two pros…

Close to one o’clock, we all departed in the fire truck, leaving Sadie behind to guard the firehouse. I followed in my car to re-join them at the Cannery on Beach Street, where the tours depart.

About seven of us – adults and children – were buckled in and dressed in authentic fire coats for the ride of our lives on the shiny red fire truck.

We left with a grand flourish, as "Captain Robert" sounded the bell and Marilyn announced: "We’re goin’ to take a fire engine ride. You can’t go wrong, I’ll sing a song, I’m goin’ to be your special guide.

(Captain Robert and Marilyn wave from their fire engine, with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background)

We’re goin’ to cross the Golden Gate on the Sausalito way."
On the way, we passed a San Francisco hook-and-ladder truck and waved to the firemen. Driving through the Presidio, Marilyn and Robert had us singing a rousing rendition of "California Here I Come."

Once on the bridge, our red beanies felt warm in the nippy air. And from the looks of people walking and driving across the marvelous span, we were the main attraction.

"We always look at each other on the way to work (on the fire truck)," said Robert, "and say, ‘We’re the only ones going to work like this…and we love it.’"

IF YOU GO…
San Francisco Fire Engine Tours & Adventures departs from the Cannery on Beach St. near Fisherman’s Wharf, seating up to13 people. Call 1-415-333-7077, or visit fireenginetours.com.

The 75-minute tour costs $45 for adults. Children up to age 12 are $25. Teens 13 -17 are $35. Charters and birthday parties (leaving from the Cannery) are $425 an hour. A portion of the profit goes to The Burn Foundation.

Tours of the firehouse by appointment only.