Role: Honorary Firefighter / patroness
Lillie Hitchcock Coit (August 23, 1843 – July 22, 1929) was a well-known patroness of San Francisco’s volunteer firefighters and the benefactor for the construction of the Coit Tower in San Francisco.
“Firebelle Lil” Coit was considered eccentric, smoking cigars and wearing trousers long before it was socially acceptable for women to do so. She was an avid gambler and often dressed like a man in order to gamble in the male-only establishments that dotted North Beach. Coit was fascinated by firefighters from a young age. At age 15, in 1858, she reportedly witnessed the Knickerbocker Engine Co. No. 5 respond to a fire call on Telegraph Hill when they were shorthanded, and helped them get up the hill ahead of other competing engine companies. From then on, Coit became a mascot for the firehouse and made an honorary member, riding along on fire engines and tending to the volunteer firefighters when they were unwell.
