Frank Fowler Loomis Inventions Information

Frank Fowler Loomis (April 2, 1854 – September 19, 1936) was an American electrical-mechanical engineer in the Akron, Ohio, fire department. He developed police and fire alarm systems for the city. His claim to fame is that he designed and built the world's first motorized police patrol wagon ("paddy wagon").

Loomis was born in Akron on April 2, 1854. He is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Taylor) Loomis. He attended Akron public schools until his father died in 1861. He then lived with a great-uncle at Wadsworth, Ohio, for the next seven years. Loomis in 1869 worked on the Ohio and Erie Canal for a few months. In 1870 he went to work at Merrill's pottery workshop for a year. After that he learned the blacksmith's trade.

Loomis became a volunteer fireman in Akron's fire department in 1869. In 1870 he became a paid fireman in station No. #1. He slept at night at the fire station and worked at an outside trade during the day. His first work at the fire department was as a "call man" and would holler as an alarm to get volunteers during a fire.

Loomis in 1874 with another engineer developed and helped deploy four fire alarm telegraph signal boxes. These were located at key businesses throughout the city of Akron. Soon the system needed updating and improvements, however the city would not finance it. Loomis, the other engineer, and the fire chief bought the wire from a defunct telegraph line to make these improvements. They wired fifteen miles of the wire in Akron to install new alarm boxes which used a telegraph key by the operator. It was soon realized that the operator could not give the correct signal during the excitement of a fire. Loomis then developed an alarm box that worked by just turning a crank that then automatically gave the correct signal. He patented an alarm box (#US323435A) that worked by breaking the glass and pulling a lever that opened the box that then in turn sent off the signal automatically. Loomis was promoted to the city chief engineer in January, 1881.

The success of the fire alarm system spawned a similar system for the police department that was installed in 1885. Loomis designed an alarm box for police patrolmen reporting for a wagon, additional policemen or required firemen. It was first developed with a telegraph key, however soon improved with telephones built in.

Loomis in the late 1890s started developing out a horseless wagon for the police department. In 1899 it became the world's first motorized police patrol wagon. Loomis of E. York Street in Akron was the creator of this automobile. The wagon is sometimes referred to as a "paddy wagon." Visitors came from all over the United States to inspect the vehicle and soon duplicates were placed into service in Cleveland, Chicago, and New York City.

The motorized patrol wagon was an electric vehicle that weighed, with its batteries, almost three tons. It came with a headlight and a bell to alert people it was coming. The police patrol vehicle had three speeds and could go up to sixteen miles per hour. The carriage body of the wagon was built in 1899 by the Collins Buggy Company of Akron to specifications and drawings of Loomis. It had a seating capacity of twelve people and ran with two 4-horsepower electric motors. The storage batteries of the police wagon had to be charged every thirty miles. It was less expensive to maintain than a team of horses to pull a wagon to do the equivalent work. A special enclosure was made to house the police wagon.

The electric motor wagon was taken by a mob in the 1900 Akron riot. It was damaged and pushed into the Ohio and Erie Canal. The police wagon was recovered, repaired, and put into service for an additional seven years. The electric police patrol wagon was then completely overhauled in 1913. It was put on exhibition and became a part of the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. It was afterwards acquired by Selle Company and dismantled in 1917. They had originally supplied the gears for the vehicle.

Loomis married, July 10, 1879, to Miss Barbara Grad, of Akron.

Loomis retired from Akron's fire department in 1910. He died September 19, 1936. He established the "Loomis Award" named after him for fire service valor and heroism. It was initially established by his will of 1936 and in the first 50 years of its existence only three firefighters received the award.

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