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1958 F.W.D.

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Everything posted by 1958 F.W.D.

  1. Was a qualified fireboat pilot when I was at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard Fire Dept- we had a saying: If you don't have power to the screws and rudder, you can't argue with the tide, current and the wind!
  2. Here is a link to the radio traffic of the Baltimore City Fire Dept- they were initially dispatched for a "car in the water." This is 90 minutes of radio traffic that has been compressed to about 40 minutes. From a Fire Service Standpoint- these guys all remained calm, cool and collect in the face of probably the biggest incident any of them will ever face in their careers.
  3. Here is a link to the MDT Police Radio traffic, it's about 2 minutes long. You can clearly hear one officer has traffic stopped, and says "When someone relieves me. I will drive up and get the road crew off." But then it happened. Can you imagine how that officer feels now?
  4. Many poor VFD's in rural areas received these as excess Government vehicles and turned them into water tankers. And have turned them over in ditches because everyone forgets water is heavier than fuel.
  5. First winter after I got the FWD Firetruck, we had one of those epic three foot plus blizzards. I took it out just to say that I did it. I **tried** to get it stuck. Wasn't happening!!! Did get it hung up on a plowed mound once but I locked the lockers and she climbed right out like it wasn't even there.
  6. Back in my younger life, I was trying to get hired onto the Philadelphia Fire Department, and bought a house in the City to establish residency which was a requirement. Life went on and that did not pan out. I sold the house and moved up to the Lehigh Valley where we are now. I always thought I would miss living in the City, but every time I go back (have to get my cheese steak fix or go visit Philly Fire Dept friends at their firehouses) I can't wait to get the EFF out of there. Dennis Smith, a NYC Firefighter and Author that I like once said about New York: "I have been here too long to hate it, but I know it too well to love it." And yeah the Alzheimers/Dimentia thing sucks. We lost my mom in January 2020 just before the china virus hit. She had been suffering from dimentia and then full blown alzheimers. I wont go through the whole thing but it was 7 years of my Dad taking care of her and me and my wife stepping in once in a while to give him a break. In mid-December 2019 things got really bad and her brain started to forget how to tell her body to do things and she developed aspiration pneumonia and got admitted to the hospital. Christmas Day 2019 I went to visit her with my Aunt (her sister) and it was the first time she didn't know who we were. It was a kick in the stomach. She died a few weeks later on January 11, and not to sound like an a$$hole (I am sure many would agree with me) it was a relief and though my Dad would never admit it he was relieved.
  7. The aerial was a special product called "Bulldog 1" made specially for Mack by Ladder Towers, Inc. who is currently owned by the Spartan/REV group of Ephrata, Pa. You can try to give them a call or send an email to see what they have as far as manuals but I would not hold your breath. Not many of these were made for Mack.
  8. The clutch is most likely a 16" twin disc Spicer. Yes parts are available, you just have to hunt a little. Any reputable clutch shop should be able to rebuild it. As for the hub, you have to keep your eyes out at the truck flea markets.
  9. I can tell you from looking at the pic as originally delivered compared to now, that the tank is not the original 500 gallon tank and is now larger. And I bet that the truck has no rust because when they modified the body to accommodate the larger tank, they probably did some cancer surgery at the same time.
  10. That's not the original tank, which would have been steel. Poly tanks were relatively unheard of back then and certainly not installed OEM by Mack.
  11. Sorry the parking lot is full that day, you'll have to go to the Pilot or the T/A at Exit 7 in New Jersey.
  12. I had to get to Winfall to Uber all these hot chicks around, some guy there refused to give them rides.
  13. If you want to check out a small but very nice fire truck collection in Estes Park, check out the Reliance Fire Museum www.reliancefiremuseum.org Estes Park located on the outskirts of Rocky Mountain National Park that has some fantastic views. I was at the museum in August but very briefly picking up a transmission, wish I had some more time to look around.
  14. Don't get me wrong, I would never discourage anyone from wanting a bike or to ride. I have many friends who do, including Firefighters. Many are surprised that I am not into bikes for as big a gearhead as I am. Two accidents that I went to as a Firefighter when I was 19 really left a sour taste in my mouth. Won't get into details but they were pretty gory. You do you, it's just not for me. I have my fun in other ways.
  15. Have been a volunteer and career firefighter/EMT for 33 years. I have seen enough that I have absolutely zero desire to ever ride. I am pretty sure I have been to more fatal motorcycle accidents than I have non-fatal ones.
  16. Many of them are punch-type cards, some of which had microfiche negatives attached. As stated, not sure if they are indexed or if the museum even has the capability of reading the punch card information. All in all, the cabinets probably contain several hundred thousand cards.
  17. I can absolutely confirm that the Museum did acquire records from Mack Australia a few years back in the form of 10 or 15 cabinets, containing hundreds of thousands of record cards. (Helped move them to the second floor records room.) Don't know if they are indexed or not or whether the museum has the capability to read them or not.
  18. The pump is a six-piston pump. When in operation, each piston creates a pulse. The chrome dome is traditionally called an "Equalizing Sphere" and eliminates the pulses in the discharge side of the pump.
  19. The temp during the day in Phoenix that Monday. It was gross. Recommend 0/10
  20. Mike and Rhonda's Place. We found it by accident! But it looked good so we gave it a shot and it was a grand slam!
  21. Funny you mention that, if we had more time we would have gone the rest of the way (600 miles +/-) and went to the Los Angeles County Fire Museum and also visited a friend who now owns the FDNY Super Tender and the LA City F-Model Mack/Holmes Wrecker
  22. Saw this old Ward LaFrance pumper somewhere up in the Mountans between Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. The hugest, fluffiest, bestest tasting bistits at breakfast in Flagstaff A closeup of the rock at Monument Valley
  23. SORRY!!! JUST EDITED!!!! You should be able to see the pics now without downloading or clicking on anything.
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