LIVERMORE — A light will, quite literally, always shine over the Livermore Fire Department. The Centennial Bulb, the world’s longest-burning lightbulb, has been aglow in Livermore for over a century, and the city is celebrating its 122nd anniversary in the new year. It’s something that Livermore takes pride in, having been awarded a Guinness World Record for the bulb.
The bulb, located at Fire Station #6 on 4550 East Ave., has also been the subject of a documentary and a book, and it has its own committee. You can even buy replicas of the bulb on its website, centennialbulb.org, visit it on a tour, and watch a livestream of it from the station’s ‘Bulbcam’. “The oldest known working lightbulb has become an enduring symbol of the American spirit of invention,” wrote former President George W. Bush in a letter in 2001. The letter was sent to the organizers of an event celebrating the centenary of the bulb that year.
“I did interviews for television networks all over the world at the time; from Australia and Europe to the Middle East and South America. I was even in a television commercial with it,” said former Deputy Fire Chief Tom Bramell, chairman of the Lightbulb Committee.
“Every firefighter has to learn all about it because there’s so many visitors. I would even go in on my days off to give tours; all of the firefighters would.”
The bulb, a hand-blown bulb with carbon filament, was created by Shelby Electric Company in 1900. It was donated to the Livermore Fire Department by Dennis Bernal, owner of the Livermore Power and Water Company, in 1901. “When they used to hook up the horse-drawn hose cart, the firefighters had to light kerosene lanterns, and when they got the bulb they were able to see at night,” said Bramell. “At the time, they said it was the best lamp in the world, and it has outlived a lot of people.”
It was first installed at a station on L Street and, besides being turned off for a week during renovations in 1937, it remained lit until 1976, when it was off for 22 minutes while it was moved – with a full police and fire truck escort – to its present site. There was another interruption in 2013, when a power issue caused it to go out for nine hours.
“I got a phone call at about 5 a.m. and a firefighter said ‘Chief, you have to get down here.’ I had been retired for about five years at the time,” Bramell said. “I was on the way over, and I told them to bypass the Unlimited Power System we had installed to it and connect it straight to power. By the time I got there, it was back on, and it was brighter than I’d ever seen it.”
The bulb’s wattage began at 60 watts and it currently burns at about four watts. “It’s amazing how it’s still working. It’s been a mystery for decades,” Bramell said.
There have been some competitors for the title. The world’s second-longest burning lightbulb was located in the Byers Opera House, in Fort Worth, Texas. However, the theater, later known as the Palace Theatre, has been demolished and the bulb was moved to the Stockyards Museum where it is regularly turned on and off.
There are no plans for such a move in Livermore and in the event anything should happen to the bulb, it will be given to the city. “We have so many entities that want it but it belongs to the city of Livermore and whoever is on the City Council at the time will decide what to do with it,” said Bramell.
Mayor John Marchand said that a plan isn’t yet in place for what would happen should the bulb burn out in the next four years during his term.
“We’ve talked about it with the Lightbulb Committee, but everybody just hopes that it’s not going to go out on their watch,” Marchand said.
“Lightbulbs are something that people just throw away, but for over a century – for over one million hours – this lightbulb has looked after the men and women who protect our city. It’s transcended generations, and there’s something comforting to be able to look up at it. It’s so special and it really resonates with people. So, we just hope that it’s not going to go out.”
Bramell doesn’t believe it will go out any time soon, however. “I think it’ll burn for another 100 years, easily,” he said.
“At some point in time, it will expire. Everything expires, but it’s an incredible achievement of technology. It’s still there 24 hours a day, seven days a week, lighting the station for the firefighters — just like when it was installed.”
Visit the Centennial Bulb at Fire Station #6, 4550 East Ave., Livermore, between 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. or 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.
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