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Wayne's Stuff #20
DO YOU KNOW
THAT DURING COLONIAL TIMES THE FIRE ENGINES
THAT WERE IMPORTED WERE MOSTLY FROM ENGLAND.
DO YOU KNOW
THAT WITH A HAND PUMPER IN THE
SUB ZERO WEATHER THE MEN WOULD STILL
HAVE TO
PUMP THE BRAKES , DURING OVERHAULING IN ORDER FOR
THE
PUMP, LINE AND NOZZLE. NOT TO FREEZE.
WE WOULD CRACK THE PIPE AND OUR ENGINE
KEPT ON PUMPING WITHOUT ANY WORK FROM US.
BUT THOSE OLD TIMERS HAD TO KEEP ON PUMPING UNTIL
THEY "PICKED UP"
DO YOU REMEMBER
WHEN WE CAME ON THE JOB, THERE WASN'T ANY RELIEF AT A MULTIPLE OR ANY
LENGTHY FIRE.
""YOUR FIRE WAS YOUR FIRE"".
THE FIRST CHANGE WAS RELIEF IN THE SUB ZERO
WEATHER.
THEN LATER ON THERE WAS PERIODIC RELIEF THROUGH
OUT THE YEAR.
AH YES, OLD TIMER , THE GOOD OLD DAYS.
DO YOU KNOW
ANOTHER TERM FOR WHEN
"ENGINES RELAYED WATER"
WAS
"TO PUMP IN TANDEM"
DO YOU KNOW
SINCE IN MANY TOWNS THERE WASN'T ANY COMMUNITY FIRE
DEPARTMENT, BUT RATHER
EACH VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY WAS INDEPENDENT.
THEREFORE YOU WOULD AS MANY DIFFERENT UNIFORMS
AS YOU DID FIRE COMPANIES.
EACH ONE TRIED TO OUTDO ONE ANOTHER IN BOTH FIRE
RIGS AS WELL AS UNIFORMS.
DO YOU KNOW
THAT PRIOR TO CHARITIES ,TO HELP FIRE VICTIMS,
THE FIREMEN TOOK IT ON THEMSELVES
TO AID THOSE THAT LOST EVERYTHING AT A FIRE.
DO YOU KNOW
THAT DURING THE YEARS WHEN STATE BANKS WERE
ALLOWED TO PRINT THEIR OWN MONEY,
SOME BANKS PRINTED THEIR
NOTES WITH A PICTURE
OF A HAND PUMPER OR STEAMER ON THEM.
MAKE SOMEONE SMILE TODAY
WAYNE
DO YOU KNOW
THAT
"PLUG GUARDS"
WERE A GROUP OF MEN FORMED BY SOME FIRE
COMPANIES TO RUN TO THE HYDRANT
CLOSEST TO THE FIRE AND HOLD IT SO THEY
WOULD HAVE "FIRST WATER".
DO YOU KNOW
WHAT AN "OLD MAID" WAS
IT WAS A HAND PUMPER THAT WAS NEVER WASHED.
IT NEVER HAD MORE WATER PUMPED INTO ITS TUB BY A RELAYING COMPANY THEN THEY
COULD PUMP OUT
IF THAT RELAYING COMPANY DID SUCCEED IN
PUMPING IN MORE WATER AND IT "WASHED" OVER
THE
SIDES THEN THAT SECOND COMPANY WAS CONSIDERED
"WASHED"
DO YOU KNOW
ANOTHER TERM I JUST FOUND ABOUT WAS THE TERMED
"SUCKED"
WHICH IS IN THE SAME CATEGORY AS
BEING "WASHED".
THIS IS WHEN A HAND PUMPER COULD ABSORB MUCH
MORE WATER IN ITS
TUB THEN THE
OTHER HAND PUMPER COULD PUMP INTO IT.
IT APPEARS IT WENT SOMETHING LIKE THIS:
ENGINE # 1 PUMPING INTO
ENGINE # 2
BOTH CREWS OF MEN PUMPING THEIR HAND BREAKS.
ENGINE # 2 PUMPS OUT THE
WATER FASTER THEN
ENGINE # 1 CAN PUMP INTO THEM.
I IMAGINE WHEN THE WATER IN THEIR TUB WAS COMPLETELY
GONE AND THEY STARTED PUMPING AIR
IS WHEN ENGINE # 1 WAS
"SUCKED"
DO YOU KNOW
THAT WHEN THE STEAMER FIRST CAME IN MANY
VOLUNTEERS DIDN'T CONSIDER THEM AS
REPLACEMENTS TO THE HAND PUMPERS BUT RATHER
AS JUST AN AUXILIARY TO THEM
DO YOU KNOW
THAT SOME OF THE EARLY STEAMERS WERE SO HEAVY THAT
THE VOLUNTEERS HAS A VERY DIFFICULT TIME
PULLING THEM THROUGH THE DIRT STREETS.
WHEN THEY WERE MUD IT WAS THAT MUCH HARDER.
ALSO ONCE THE STREETS WERE COBBLESTONE THEIR
WHEELS ( NOT RUBBER) HAD A TENDENCY TO CRUSH
SOME OF THE STONES.
THEY WERE ALSO TOO HEAVY FOR SOME OF THE WATER FRONT
WHARVES.
ONE REASON THAT SOME OF THE EARLY STEAMERS WERE SO
HEAVY WAS THAT THEY WERE MADE OF
"CAST IRON". IN THE MID AND LATE 1800s WAS WHEN THEY STARTED TO BE MADE
OF STEEL AND BRASS
MAKE SOMEONE SMILE SMILE TODAY
WAYNE
DO YOU KNOW
WHEN THE STEAMERS FIRST CAME INTO BEING
IT TOOK A LOT LONGER TO PUMP FIRST WATER
THEN THE HAND PUMPER
.
THE REASON WAS, IT TOOK A WHILE FOR FIREMEN
INGENUITY TO DEVISE A PREHEATING
SYSTEM FOR THE STEAMER.
THEY DID THIS BY HOOKING UP THE
STEAMER TO A WATER HEATER IN THEIR
BASEMENT
DO YOU KNOW
THAT IN ONE PICTURE I SAW OF FOUR HORSES
PULLING A STEAMER,
TWO MEN RODE ON THE
BACKS OF THE TWO HORSES
NEAREST THE STEAMER. THEY DID THIS FOR BETTER
CONTROL OF THE
HORSES IN TURNING CORNERS.
THESE MEN WERE CALLED "OUTRIDERS"
DO YOU KNOW
IN MANY BOOKS ON FIREMEN, THEY ARE CALLED
"SMOKE EATERS"
DO YOU REMEMBER
WHAT YOU USED TO POKE HOLES IN A USED
CHEMOX CANISTER BEFORE TOSSING IT IN A PAIL OF
WATER??????????.
THE PEEN OF YOUR AX, OLD TIMER,
THE PEEN OF YOUR AX.
DO YOU REMEMBER
WHEN WE CAME ON THE JOB AND ONLY HAD TV CHANNELS 2, 4, 7,
& 9, WHAT DID WE BUY TO GET
CHANNEL 50 WHEN IT FIRST CAME IN??
A "CONVERTER"
WHAT DID WE PUT ON TV "RABBIT EARS"
FOR BETTER RECEPTION
TIN FOIL........................OR
AS THE YOUNG "WHIPPER SNAPPERS" KNOW IT AS
"ALUMINUM FOIL"
DO YOU KNOW
THAT DUE TO THE FIRST BACKWARD STRIKING OF THE GONG
RELEASING THE TRIP ON THE
"HORSES" STALL DOOR OR CHAIN THEY GOT TO
THE STEAMER BEFORE THE FIREMEN
GOT DRESSED AND SLID THE POLE OR RAN DOWN THE STAIRS.
IN MOST CASES THE HORSES WERE WAITING FOR
YOU, YOU WEREN'T WAITING FOR THEM.
DO YOU KNOW
IT APPEARS WHEN YOU ORIGINALLY TALKED ABOUT A
"BUFF" YOU WERE REFERRING TO A PERSON
THAT WAS A "VOLUNTEER"
BEFORE THE PROFESSIONAL ERA.
SOMETIMES A "BUFF" WAS
REFERRED TO AS A "SPARK"
SOMETIMES A "VOLUNTEER"
WAS REFERRED AS A "VAMP"
DO YOU KNOW
RUMOR HAS IT THAT, AT HEADQUARTERS, SOME OF THOSE
OLD SPITOONS WERE THROWN DOWN
BETWEEN THE WALLS OF THE OLD HOSE TOWER.
MAKE SOMEONE SMILE TODAY
WAYNE
HOURS FOR FEEDING HORSES SHALL BE 6:30 AM AND 4: AM,
(4:00 PM)
AND MUST BE WATERED AT
LEAST THIRTY MINUTES BEFORE FEEDING TIME
DO YOU KNOW
THERE WAS A GROUP OF MEN
THAT CAME AROUND TO THE ENGINE HOUSES IN THE LATE
60s OR EARLY 70s
THEIR JOB WAS TO TRY TO GET SOME INPUT IN FORMING A
NEW DIVISION . IT WAS TO TAKEOVER THE
ROLE OF TRANSPORTING PATIENTS FROM THE SQUADS AND
POLICE STATION WAGONS.
IT DID BECOME THE EMS.
NOBODY KNEW WHERE THIS GROUP WAS FROM, THE CITY , THE STATE OR THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
I JUST FOUND OUT THEY WERE "THE MAYORS
ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
DO YOU KNOW
THE FIRST EYE GUARDS ISSUED TO US FROM THE
FIRE DEPARTMENT WERE THE PLASTIC GOGGLES
LIKE YOU BUY AT THE DOLLAR STORE.
DO YOU REMEMBER
BREAKING THE GLASS ON THE RUNNING BOARDS ON THE WALLS OF
HEADQUARTERS WITH A HOCKEY PUCK
WHEN PLAYING FLOOR HOCKEY. SOMETIME THEY WERE BROKEN 2 TIMES IN ONE DAY.
THE CHIEFS WERE NOT SMILING AT THAT.
THESE WERE "OFU" GUYS AS WE WERE TOO BUSY STUDYING RULES
AND REGULATIONS
DO YOU REMEMBER
IF YOU RAN DOWNTOWN YOU LEARNED THE DISTRICT TWO WAYS,
ONE WAS WHEN YOU WEREN'T ON A RUN AND OBEYED ALL THE ONE WAY STREETS AND THE
NO RIGHT
AND LEFT TURN AT CORNERS,
AND THE OTHER WAY ON A RUN WHEN AT TIMES YOU HAD TO "BUCK
TRAFFIC" AND MAKE THOSE TURNS
DUE TO THE HEAVY TRAFFIC.
DO YOU KNOW
THAT BESIDES A DEVICE TO PUT ON THE STREETCAR TRACKS
OVER YOUR STRETCHED LINE THEY ALSO HAD
A LARGE TRI-POLE SYSTEM THAT THEY PUT ON EACH SIDE
OF THE TRACKS. YOU THEN LIFTED YOUR LINE
AND HUNG IT UP SO THE STREETCARS COULD PASS UNDERNEATH. WITH LINES BLOCKING
STREETS, CARS
COULD ALWAYS AVOID GOING THAT WAY, BUT THE STREETCARS NATURALLY HAD TO STAY ON
THE
TRACKS.
DO YOU REMEMBER
BEFORE ENGINES CARRIED WATER
WE WOULD BLOCK ALL STREETS, ENTRANCE AND EXIT RAMPS TO THE
"DITCH" (EXPRESSWAY) ON ALL CAR FIRES.
MAKE SOMEONE SMILE TODAY
WAYNE
DO YOU REMEMBER
HOW TO HOOK INTO THE ROPE WITH THE POMPIER BELT AND THEN SLIDE DOWN IT
COME ON OLD TIMER YOU CAN REMEMBER
YOU TAKE THE HOOK WITH YOUR RIGHT HAND AND HOOK IT TO THE ROPE
WITH YOUR LEFT HAND YOU DO ONE LOOP OVER THE TOP OF THE
HOOK
YOU HAVE THE LOOPED ROPE AROUND THE NON OPENING SIDE
OF THE HOOK.
YOU GRAB THAT WITH YOUR LEFT GLOVED HAND
WITH YOUR RIGHT GLOVED HAND YOU GRAB THE ROPE ABOUT 3 FEET BELOW THE
HOOK AND SWING THIS BEHIND YOUR BACK.
THEN YOU JUST STEP OUT OF THE WINDOW.
YOUR DESCENT IS DETERMINED BY A COMBINATION OF YOUR
LEFT HAND SQUEEZING THE ROPE AND HOOK AND YOUR RIGHT HAND TIGHTENING OR SLACKING
UP ON THE ROPE.
I THINK I HAVE IT RIGHT , CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG,
.....IT HAS BEEN ALMOST 42 YEARS AGO
DO YOU REMEMBER
BEFORE THE STAPLE FUND AND BEING ABLE TO BUY "KITCHEN BOUQUET" YOU DARKENED
GRAVY BY PUTTING EITHER FLOUR OR SUGAR IN A FRYING PAN AND HEATING IT TILL IT
TURNED DARK BROWN. YOU THEN ADDED THIS TO DARKEN PALE LOOKING GRAVY.
_____________________________________________________
FROM ED FERGUSON
Engine 32 had their kitchen on the 2nd. floor
until the late 60's
___________________________________________________
DO YOU REMEMBER
WHAT ENGINE HOUSES HAD A WALL SEPARATING A COMPANY FROM ANOTHER
(NOT EMS)
I REMEMBER
1 WALL SEPARATED SQUAD 6 FROM ENGINE 50 AND LADDER 23
1 WALL SEPARATED ENGINE 42 FROM LADDER 21
1 WALL (IN THAT BACK ROOM) SEPARATED SQUAD 5 FROM ENGINE 40 AND LADDER 17
(OLD QUARTERS)...........I CAN'T RECALL IF THERE WAS A WALL THAT SEPARATED
THE ENGINE FROM THE TRUCK...................ANYONE KNOW????????????????
1 WALL SEPARATED SQUAD 2 FROM ENGINE 5 AND LADDER 20....................I
CAN'T RECALL IF THERE WAS A WALL THAT SEPARATED THE ENGINE FROM THE
TRUCK...................ANYONE KNOW????????????????
DO YOU REMEMBER
HOW EVERY ENGINE HOUSE AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD EACH HAD CHARACTERISTICS OF ITS
OWN
DO YOU REMEMBER
THE SAYING "S--T P--S F--K
DO YOU REMEMBER
THE SMELL WHENEVER YOU OPENED THE LIFE NET COMPARTMENT.
ALWAYS CATCHING THOSE SPRINGS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE COMPARTMENT WHEN YOU PUT
IT BACK AFTER INSPECTION
THE YEAR THAT THEY REMOVED ALL LIFE NETS????????????????? I DON'T
_________________________________________________________________________________
BELOW IS FROM BOX 42 PAGE OF THE COMPANIES THAT ARE OUT OF SERVICE
ENGINE COMPANIES:
ENGINE 2 : DISBANDED MAY 1940
ENGINE 3 : DISBANDED MARCH 1976
ENGINE 4 : DISBANDED MARCH 1976
ENGINE 6 : DISBANDED FEBRUARY 1994
ENGINE 7 : DISBANDED JANUARY 1979
ENGINE 11 : DISBANDED JANUARY 1975
ENGINE 12 : DISBANDED MARCH 1976
ENGINE 13 : DISBANDED MARCH 1976
ENGINE 14 : DISBANDED MAY 1940
ENGINE 15 : DISBANDED MAY 1940
ENGINE 16 : DISBANDED APRIL 1976 (FIREBOAT)
ENGINE 19 : DISBANDED JUNE 1949
ENGINE 22 : DISBANDED JULY 1983
ENGINE 24 : DISBANDED MAY 1940
ENGINE 25 : DISBANDED MAY 1940 (FIREBOAT)
ENGINE 28 : DISBANDED AUGUST 1948
ENGINE 36 : DISBANDED FEBRUARY 1982
ENGINE 43 : DISBANDED JUNE 1983
ENGINE 45 : DISBANDED JUNE 1983
LADDER COMPANIES:
LADDER 2 : DISBANDED NOVEMBER 1951
LADDER 3 : DISBANDED MAY 1992
LADDER 5 : DISBANDED MARCH 1976
LADDER 9 : DISBANDED JUNE 1992
LADDER 11 : DISBANDED JUNE 1992
LADDER 12 : DISBANDED MAY 1982
LADDER 15 : DISBANDED JUNE 1980
BOX 42 STATISTICIAN DAN JASINA
I KNOW THERE ARE MORE SUCH AS THE BOAT TENDER AND THE AMBULANCE AND SOME
BATTALION CHIEFS BUT THIS IS WHAT THEY HAD................IF YOU WANT TO ADD
TO THIS LIST E-MAIL ME
SMILE AT SOME OF THIS "STUFF" AND JUST
REMEMBER AT OTHERS
WAYNE
DO YOU REMEMBER
WHEN THE EMS UNIFORM WAS
"OD" (OLIVE DRAB .....A SHADE OF GREEN)
DO YOU KNOW
THAT DETROIT HAD TWO
TRAINING TOWERS THAT WERE WOODEN SIX STORY STRUCTURES
ONE WAS AT THE REAR OF LADDER 5 AT ERSKINE AND RUSSELL
THE SECOND ONE WAS AT ENGINE 14, MICHIGAN AND SCOTTEN.
IN 1912 THEY WERE WERE REPLACED WITH
STEEL AND WOODEN ONES
THEY WERE USED FOR COMPANY SCHOOL AND EVOLUTION'S.
THE PRESENT TRAINING SCHOOL WAS DEDICATED ON JANUARY
28, 1931 . THE TOWERS THEN WERE OBSOLETE.
DO YOU REMEMBER
THE SAUERKRAUT FIVE
OR THE
BOB ENGEL COMBO
THESE WERE BANDS CONSISTING OF FIREMEN THAT
PLAYED BACK IN THE 60s.
DO YOU REMEMBER
WHAT THREE OPERATIONS COULD YOU DO WITH THE
AERIAL.
COME ON OLD TIMER, THINK
YOU'RE UP ON THE TURNTABLE .
YOU'RE KEEPING YOU RIGHT HAND AWAY FROM THE CONTROL
PEDESTAL SO IT DOESN'T GET CRUSHED BETWEEN IT AND THE PISTON WHEN THE AERIAL
GOES UP.
THERE ARE THREE LEVERS TO OPERATE
WHAT ARE THEY???????????
RAISE
EXTEND
ROTATE.
DO YOU KNOW
THAT "POSSIBLY" THE FIRST
PAID "DETROIT FIRE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE "
WAS THE STEEL TRIANGLE GONG
"RINGER" IN 1827
NOTE" THE STEEL TRIANGLE GONG
IS NOW AT THE GREENFIELD VILLAGE.
DO YOU KNOW
HE LOST HIS JOB WHEN THE
BOX ALARM SYSTEM CAME INTO BEING.
DO YOU KNOW
THAT TOWER WATCHES, IN DETROIT, WERE
MAINTAINED IN THE
WATCH TOWERS OF
ENGINES 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, & 11
THE TOWER WATCHMAN
IN EACH ENGINE HOUSE WAS ABOLISHED
IN 1896
THESE MEN WERE ON DUTY FROM 9:00 PM TO 6:00 AM
DO YOU KNOW
THAT THE LAST TWO ENGINE COMPANIES TO HAVE 2 WAY RADIOS WAS
ENGINE 47 & ENGINE 60 IN 1952
MAKE SOMEONE SMILE TODAY
WAYNE
DO YOU KNOW
THAT STARTING IN 1885 THE ENGINE
HOUSE TOWER BELLS WERE
STRUCK ON THE HOUR EXCEPT FOR 11:00 AM ON
SUNDAY MORNING SO AS NOT TO INTERFERE WITH THE
CHURCH BELLS.
DO YOU KNOW
THAT THE EARLY ENGINE HOUSE GONGS WERE THE
17 INCH SIZE.
THESE WERE NOT TURTLE GONGS.
TURTLE GONGS CAME IN THE
ENGINE HOUSES IN 1904 .
THEY WERE MADE IN TWO SIZES
A 6 INCH AND A 10 INCH.
DETROIT HAD THE "10" INCH SIZE.
THE TURTLE GONG WAS AN
IMPROVEMENT OVER THE OLD
17 INCH BELL
AS IT HAD FEWER MOVING PARTS AND ADJUSTMENTS.
IT STRUCK AT TWO BLOWS A SECOND WHICH WAS FASTER THEN
THE LARGER BELL.
DO YOU KNOW
THAT THE "TAPPER BELL" ( LITTLE
BELL )
WAS INSTALLED IN 1891
DO YOU KNOW
THAT SOME EARLY HAND PULLED
LADDER TRUCKS HAD TO HAVE COUNTER WEIGHTS
TO PREVENT THEM FROM TIPPING OVER WHEN THE
AERIAL WAS RAISED.
ALSO FROM SOME OF THE PICTURES I SAW THERE WEREN'T ANY OUTRIGGERS
. THEREFORE IT LOOKS LIKE THE AERIAL COULD ONLY BE RAISED AND EXTENDED
, NOT ROTATED.
DO YOU KNOW
WHILE OUR AERIALS HAD 3 OR 4
SECTIONS
SOME OLD WOODEN AERIAL LADDERS HAD UP TO 8 SECTIONS.
DO YOU KNOW
THAT "LIFE NETS" WERE
ORIGINALLY KNOWN
AS "JUMPING SHEETS"
DO YOU KNOW
SINCE MOST VOLUNTEERS HAD
JOBS DURING THE WEEK, SUNDAY WAS THE DAY FOR THE MEN
TO MEET AT THE FIRE HOUSE TO WORK ON
THEIR RIG.
DO YOU KNOW
THAT "SOME"
FIRE HOUSES HAD LIVING QUARTERS FOR
THE FAMILIES
OF THE FIREMEN WHEN THEY HAD TO WORK
EVERY DAY.
MAKE SOMEONE SMILE TODAY
WAYNE
DO YOU KNOW
THAT A COMPANY WAS MARKETING A FIRE ALARM BOOTH
TO CUT DOWN ON FALSE ALARMS
IT WAS ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE OLD WOODEN PHONE BOOTH
THAT US "OLD TIMERS " USED WAY BACK WHEN.
YOU ENTERED THE BOOTH, CLOSED THE DOOR,
AND PUSHED THE FIRE ALARM BUTTON.
THE DOOR AUTOMATICALLY LOCKED YOU IN FOR A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME.
NO INFORMATION WAS PROVIDED AS TO IF A TIMER OR THE RESPONDING COMPANY LET YOU
OUT.
THE ARTICLE DIDN'T EVEN STATE IF THE COMPANY SOLD ANY OF THESE
BOOTHS.
DO YOU KNOW
THAT THERE WAS A DOG THAT LEARNED TO
PULL THE FIRE BELL ROPE ON THEIR RIG
WHILE RESPONDING TO A FIRE.
DO YOU REMEMBER
WHO MADE "FIRE CHIEF'S "
GASOLINE
COME ON OLD TIMER
HINT # 1
Milton Berle Show........................ BACK IN THE 50s
HINT # 2
The show opened with these guys dressed like service station attendants
singing
"Oh, we're the men from %$#@&%,
we work from Maine to %$#@&%
"TEXACO"
"Oh, we're the men from Texaco,
we work from Maine to Mexico.
DO YOU KNOW
ACCORDING TO ONE BOOK I READ, THE FIRST
HORSE DRAWN STEAMER AND HOOK & LADDER TRUCK
DIDN'T HAVE ANY ROOM FOR THE DRIVER. SO
HE RODE ON THE HORSE.
OF ALL THE BOOKS I READ , THERE IS ONLY ONE
REFERENCE TO THIS.
DO YOU KNOW
THE FIRST SALVAGE WAGON, USED IN
BOSTON, WAS A CONVERTED OLD MILK WAGON.
DO YOU KNOW
SOME SALVAGE COMPANIES CARRIED TAR
PAPER AND ROOFING NAILS TO PATCH HOLES IN ROOFS DUE TO THE
FIRE.
DO YOU REMEMBER
THE 15 MINUTE AIR BOTTLE MASK
THAT SQUADS CARRIED BACK IN THE
60s
WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THIS MASK???????
"SCOTT SLING PAK"
DO YOU KNOW
IN SOME EARLY FIRE DEPARTMENTS, A
FIREMAN WORKED A 21 HOUR DAY WITH 3 HOURS OFF FOR MEALS AND
EVERY 5TH DAY OFF. IF ANOTHER MAN FROM
THAT COMPANY WAS OFF DUTY SICK, YOU DID NOT GET YOUR
OFF DAY UNTIL THAT MAN RETURNED TO DUTY.
MAKE SOMEONE SMILE TODAY
WAYNE
DO YOU REMEMBER
THE OLD AMBULANCE AT HEADQUARTERS
IT WAS BASICALLY A HOSPITAL ON WHEELS
LATER ON IT WAS USED AS A COMMAND POST.
I DROVE IT ON OCCASION WHEN IT RESPONDED TO MULTIPLE ALARMS
MAKE SOMEONE SMILE TODAY
WAYNE
DO YOU REMEMBER
THE WATCH DESK
OK, FOR ALL YOU OLD FARTS THAT FORGOT ALL THIS "STUFF"
THE MAN ON WATCH IS "SLIDING COMPANIES IN OR OUT OF SERVICE."
IT LOOKS LIKE ENGINES 13, 42 , 49, LADDER 11 & 21 ARE
OUT OF SERVICE
ON THE FAR RIGHT ARE SQUADS AND CHIEFS.
IT LOOKS LIKE HE IS USING A CAR AERIAL
TO PUSH THE SLIDERS.
POOL CUES AND
HEADLESS GOLF CLUBS WERE
ALSO USED.
THE 8 CIRCUIT KEYS ARE AT THE VERY
TOP OF THE BOARD . IF CENTRAL HAD PROBLEMS THEY WOULD CALL THE
MAN ON WATCH TO MOVE THE CENTER PINS
FROM ONE POSITION TO ANOTHER. I THINK YOU THEN TESTED WITH
CENTRAL BY PRESSING THE CIRCUIT KEY
8 TIMES.
TO THE LEFT AND SLIGHTLY BELOW IS THE "BIG BELL"
OR OFFICIALY A TEN INCH" TURTLE GONG" MADE BY
GAMEWELL
IT WAS GOOD FOR 250 STRIKES BETWEEN WINDINGS.
TO THE RIGHT OF THAT IS THE SWITCH THAT
YOU THREW IN WHEN THE BOX COMING IN OVER THE REGISTER WAS YOUR
BOX. THAT PUT THE BIG BELL IN THE CIRCUIT.
IF A HIGH RANKING OFFICER CAME INTO QUARTERS YOU WOULD FLIP
THE SWITCH TWO OR MORE TIMES TO SUMMON
EVERYONE TO "HIT THE FLOOR", RESPOND TO THE APPARATUS FLOOR.
TO THE RIGHT OF THAT IS THE "DEPARTMENT PHONE. REMEMBER THE
OLD DAYS WHEN YOU HAD TO ASK THE BOSS TO
USE IT TO CALL ANOTHER ENGINE HOUSE.
TO THE RIGHT AND ABOVE IT IS THE MICROPHONE THAT IS CONNECTED
TO SPEAKERS THROUGHOUT THE FIRST AND
SECOND FLOORS.
BELOW IS THE 'STILL" PAD THAT YOU TOOK CALLED IN ALARMS,
DETAILS AND OTHER MESSAGES ON.
TO THE LEFT OF THAT ARE 6 PUSH BUTTONS
THAT WERE HOOKED TO THE VARIOUS OFFICERS ROOMS.
TO THE LEFT IS THE SMALL BELL OR THE CORRECT NAME
IS "TAPPER BELL" ALSO FROM GAMEWELL..
THIS SMALL BELL IS IN CIRCUIT ON ALL BOX ALARMS AND THEN WHEN IT IS YOUR BOX YOU
THROW IN THE
BIG BELL. PRIOR TO THE TAPPER BELL, THE BIG BELL WAS IN AT ALL
TIMES.
BELOW THAT IS THE TAKEUP REEL OF THE REGISTER SYSTEM AND TO
THE RIGHT IS THE REGISTER.
THE KEY FOR THE BIG BELL AND THE
TAKEUP REEL ARE NON-REMOVABLE WHILE THE
REGISTERS KEY
IS REMOVABLE AND IS EITHER KEPT ON THE SHELF UNDERNEATH OR
THERE IS A HOLE IN THE EDGE OF THAT RIGHT SIDE
SHELF BRACKET.
THERE IS A HANGER SIZE WIRE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TAPE HOLDING
IT AT A SLIGHT ANGLE TO MAKE IT EASIER TO
SEE.
BELOW THIS IS THE WATCH DESK WITH THE BOX NUMBERS
AND LOCATIONS
OK OLD RETIRES, YOU ALL HAVE AFTERNOON
WATCH AND NO NODDING OFF AS
THIS WATCH DESK IS AT HEADQUARTERS AND THE
BRASS ARE ALL AROUND TODAY.
MAKE SOMEONE SMILE TODAY
WAYNE
SOME POSTAGE STAMPS I FOUND,
HONORING OUR PROFESSION
Remember, Saturday scrub out day. You would get the
kerosene, pour it on the oil spots and clean it up with rags.
Then we would get the "RED
DEATH"
( pink soap powder}
and slop buckets of hot water and
red death all over the apparatus
floors.
We would flush out the apparatus room ,office and kitchen and anyplace
else that was flush able..
Notice the rubber mat imprint on the floor around the pole, those mats
sure were heavy when they got wet.
Remember we draped them over the backs of those
red chairs while scrubbing out. Now no more mats or
poles...........or jobs for that matter.
NOTE , THE FIRST SATURDAY I WAS RETIRED, I FLUSHED OUT MY WIFE'S KITCHEN.
SHE USED SOME WORDS THAT I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW SHE KNEW.
MAKE SOMEONE SMILE TODAY
WAYNE
DO YOU REMEMBER
CALLING THE REPAIR SHOP AND TELLING
THEM THAT YOU HEARD A NOISE FROM UNDER THE RIG.
YOU JUST CAME BACK FROM A FIRE.
IT'S 0300 HRS, YOU'RE COLD, WET, TIRED
AND YOU SURE DON'T WANT TO "CHANGE RIGS".
THE MECHANIC COMES AND YOU HOPE HE CAN FIX IT PERMANENTLY OR AT LEAST
TEMPORALLY
TILL THE MORNING SO THE "OFU" CAN TAKE
IT IN.
HE COMES OUT FROM UNDERNEATH THE RIG
AND
SAYS...........................................................
"CHANGE
RIGS"
THOSE TWO WORDS REVERBERATED
THROUGHOUT THE ENGINE HOUSE. HERE
IT IS NOW 0400
HRS
AND WE HAVE TO CHANGE RIGS.
REMEMBER
TAKING EVERYTHING OFF THE RIG, ALL LINE
INCLUDED.
SCRUBBING ALL THE OIL OFF THE FLOOR .
DOING THE PAPER WORK FROM THE
FIRE
CHANGING INTO DRY CLOTHES
GRABBING A SNACK WHILE RESTING IN A
CHAIR
THEN THE ENGINEER
COMES BACK WITH THE X-RIG.AND YOU
PUT ALL YOUR EQUIPMENT BACK
ON IT.
IF YOU WERE IN A SINGLE COMPANY THERE WAS JUST FOUR
OF YOU,
AND MANY TIMES THERE WAS JUST THREE.
IT'S NOW 0700 HRS AND THE "OFU"
STARTS COMING IN AND SAYS
" YOU GUYS DO ANYTHING
YESTERDAY"???????????
MAKE SOMEONE SMILE TODAY.......................UNLESS
YOU HAVE TO CHANGE RIGS.........THEN
YOU CAN FROWN.......
WAYNE
FROM A WEB SITE
THERE ARE
GENERALLY THREE CATEGORIES OF THESE EARLY FIREFIGHTING TOOLS: 1ST ARE WORKING
TRUMPETS. JUST AS THE NAME IMPLIES, THEY WERE USED BY EARLY FOREMEN OR CHIEFS
TO HOLLER ORDERS TO THE FIREMEN. WHETHER THEY BE ON THE ROOF OR MANNING A HAND
TUB, ORDERS WERE RECEIVED FROM THE BOSS WHO WAS USING THIS DEVICE LIKE A
MEGAPHONE. CONSEQUENTLY, IT IS QUITE NORMAL TO FIND THEM WITH NICKS, DENTS,
DINGS AND SCRATCHES. THIS ADDS TO THE EFFECT. FIREMEN OF THE DAY WERE NOT SHY
IN USING THEIR TRUMPET IN A FIGHT WITH A RIVAL FIRE COMPANY. THEY WOULD ALSO
PLUG -UP THE END AND USE IT AS A BEER MUG.
SECONDLY
TRUMPETS WERE AWARDED TO RETIRING AND PROMOTED MEMBERS OR FOR A JOB WELL DONE.
THIS TYPE IS REFERRED TO AS A PRESENTATION TRUMPET. GENERALLY THEY WERE MADE
OUT OF SILVER, OR NICKEL PLATED BRASS. EXAMPLES IN GLASS ARE ALSO KNOWN TO
EXIST. SOMETIMES THESE WERE VERY FINELY DETAILED WITH ENGRAVINGS, ETC. OF THE
PERSON'S NAME AND FIRE COMPANY AND WERE OFTEN DATED.
FINALLY,
THERE WERE PARADE VERSIONS. THESE WERE USED FOR THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF LOOKING
GOOD AT A PARADE OR MUSTER AND IT WAS NOT UNCOMMON FOR FIREMEN TO PUT A BOUQUET
OF FLOWERS IN THE BELL WHILE THEY WERE PROUDLY CARRIED DOWN THE PARADE ROUTE - A
PRACTICE WHICH STILL EXISTS TODAY.
TRUMPETS WERE
MADE OF TIN, BRASS, NICKEL PLATED BRASS, COPPER, SILVER PLATE, SILVER, AND A FEW
RARE EXAMPLES IN GLASS OR EVEN COAL.
FROM A WEB SITE
The Hooligan Tool
is one of the world's most popular forcible entry tools.
These heavy duty tools were designed to pound, puncture, pry, twist,
and cut all types of barriers encountered by emergency service personnel.
The head and claw are forged from high alloy steel, heat treated for
maximum strength, then fitted to a 1" stress proof bar.
NOTE , WE CALLED THIS TOOL A "HALLIGAN BAR"
FROM ANOTHER WEB SITE
The Halligan Bar
Invented in 1940s by Deputy Chief Hugh Halligan of FDNY.
Approximately 8 1/2 pounds in weight.
Comprised of an adze, pick, and fork or claw.
Working with a Halligan bar is a matter of leverage.
20" in length to 42 inches. 30 Inches is the most common
Single piece of forged steel.
The adze end is gently curved and slightly flared out from the tool shaft.
The adze has a beveled bottom edge.
The shaft of the tool is 15/16 inch hexagonal shape.
The fork or claw should be a minimum of 6 inches and taper into two well beveled
tines.
Spacing between tines should allow for a gas valve to be shut.
The addition of a D ring or hook makes the tool more versatile for swinging if
necessary from the rooftop to ventilate upper floor windows.
Can be used for prying, twisting, removing windshield glass, getting a point to
begin extrication, and numerous other tasks.
.
MAKE SOMEONE SMILE TODAY
WAYNE
FROM A WEB SITE
Leather Fire Bucket
By 1700, leather fire buckets were dispensed throughout the
city. They were three gallon buckets, made of cowhide reinforced at the brim
with a wooden hoop (usually of hazel or wicker). Attached to the hoop were two
iron rings, between which was strung a long handle of leather covered rope. The
leather was usually thin, and stitched over the rope. Many antique fire buckets
(especially of the 18th Century) have lost the leather cover on the rope.
The base panel of the bucket is like a shallow leather dish; the walls of the
bucket are sewn around the edge. In addition, two pieces of stiff leather were
sewn into the base of many buckets (in the form of a cross) to act as
stiffeners. The walls of the bucket were usually one piece of heavy leather
(approx. 5 mm thicks) wrapped into a slightly tapered funnel shape with the ends
sewn together, making a side seam. The interior was often (but not always) lined
with linen.
Fire ordinances of many communities in Europe and North America required every
occupant or owner of a store or dwelling to have one good painted leather
fire-bucket, with the initials of the owner's name painted thereon for each
fireplace or stove in the building, the bucket to be hung within easy reach.
They hung on the walls, filled and ready with sand. Once emptied of their sand
on the blaze, they would be refilled with water. When the alarm rang (sometimes
church bells, or twirled rattles swung by volunteers called Rattle Watchers or
Prowlers), the shout of throw out your buckets would be quickly heeded by
everyone. Filled fire buckets would be passed from a water source, down the line
to the fire by strong-armed men, and returned by another line made up of woman
and boys.
Often, fire buckets are labeled with the owner's name (often a municipal by-law)
or blazoned with patriotic motifs, such as an eagle in the United States, or the
Royal cypher in Britain and Canada.
ANOTHER WEB SITE
Fire Buckets
Leather "fire buckets" were dispensed throughout town. The three gallon
buckets, made of cowhide reinforced at the brim with a wooden hoop and equipped
with long handle of leather covered hemp, would be used when church bells, or a
huge centrally located iron alarm ring, or twirled rattles swung by volunteer
outfits called "Rattle Watchers" or "Prowlers," sounded out their alarm. In many
burgs, the first to ring out a fire alarm would receive a reward. The call
"throw out your buckets" would be quickly heeded by all in the community. Filled
fire buckets would be passed from a water source, down the line to the fire by
strong-armed men, and returned by another line made up of woman and boys. This
tradition had already been established in the colonies as early 1648, referring
to themselves as "bucket brigades." Each quarter of the London was ordered
responsible for stocking other fire fighting tools, including "fifty assorted
ladders." Parishes were asked to store "pickax-sledges," two "hand squirts of
brass," and "sod shovels." British archives indicate that fire fighting
organizations were established.
.
MAKE SOMEONE SMILE TODAY
WAYNE
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