While playing with the Firehouse Fire Plus Two, Ward Kimball wore this fire helmet in the 1951 Tournament of Roses Parade.
A talented trombonist, Ward Kimball gathered other Disney Studios employees in 1945 forming a jazz band. Undergoing several name changes, in 1949 the group became the Firehouse Five Plus Two and began donning red shirts and leather fire helmets. The mismatched combination of artists, writers and technicans played a style of New Orleans Jazz that made them one of the most popular jazz bands of the 50's and 60's. Since many of the band members were part-time musicians, the lineup shuffled as the group's popularity grew. When the core members of the group retired in 1971, the Firehouse Five Plus Two had recorded 12 albums.
Already a popular band, the Firehouse Five Plus Two played in front of the firehouse on Disneyland's opening day. For years after the group's retirement, a Cast Member version of the FireHouse Five continued to play on Disneyland's Main Street. Disneyland's version of the Firehouse Five has since been renamed the Hook and Ladder Company.