Walt Disney has been appointed the first honorary chief of the Los Angeles County Junior Fire Department, a program encompassing 125 schools in the country's unincorporated area and embracing approximately 25,000 students in the fifth and sixth grades.
The honor was accorded Mr. Disney at the Disneyland Park Fire Department headquarters by Los Angeles County Fire Chief Keith E. Klinger. In making the presentation Chief Klinger said, "Mr. Disney for many years has made invaluable contributions in the field of fire prevention, both in our homes and in our forests. Through his many media he has conveyed the important message of fire prevention to millions of children and adults.
"This fire prevention information has always been of the highest caliber reflecting credit not only on the Disney organization but on the entire fire service as a whole.'
Chief Klinger added that the fire prevention message was greatly enhanced this fall when a series of three 15-minute segments, "Rookie Firemen," were presented on Disney's Mickey Mouse Club over the ABC-TV network. The filmed series was made in cooperation with the Los Angeles County Fire Department and depicts Mouseketeers participating in actual fire training as performed by rookie firemen in the department. First of the series was presented October 17 and the second segment October 31.
In accepting the award, Mr. Disney thanked Chief Klinger for the honor and expressed the hope that he and his organization in some small way could help to reduce the appalling yearly loss of over 12,000 lives caused by fire. Of particular concern, Mr. Disney said, was the fact that over 4,000 of this total were children.
