bulldogboy

Ford Motor Company and outdoor clothing manufacturer Filson have developed a concept wildland firefighting vehicle built on a 2021 Ford Bronco "Badlands" four door SUV. The firefighting package is built by Kimtek and includes a 50 gallon water tank with a Davey high pressure pump and various hand tools. Two concept Broncos will be donated to a wildland firefighting organization. No information on when, or if, it will be commercially available.

This was our 1947 Mack pumper. I don't have a closeup of the scroll but our 1949 Mack pumper had the same scroll so I'm guessing that it was a standard Mack design. For the most part, New England Mack fire trucks were basic, no frills work horses. Dependability was considered more important than "bling".

Hollis, NH Fire Department's former Engine 363, a 1968 Ford "N-950"/Moody. It was later rebuilt into a tanker by Valley Fire Equipment Company.

Looks like a "C-119" behind the Haydentown forestry truck.

Somebody at Ford must read these forums. I posted on Monday that Ford should feature fire apparatus built on Ford chassis in it's commercials and, lo and behold, this morning on the national TV news there was a Ford truck ad featuring fire trucks and ambulances built on Super Duty chassis.

That's a leap of faith by Republic Services to order 2,500 trucks from a brand that has yet to get a truck on the market. Good luck to them. Wasn't Republic getting one of the Mack "LR" electric trash trucks to test next year along with the DSNY?

I always wondered that, too. Ford was always, and still is, big in the fire apparatus business. Why not showcase some of them in the recent ads about Ford commercial trucks. "C" models were everywhere back in the day and "Super Dutys" are today. I'm waiting to see the "F-600", that should be a popular fire apparatus chassis.

Litchfield, NH Fire Department's former 1941 Autocar tanker, former US Navy. It's working at a school fire in September 1974. Credit to the photographer.

Yes, the Miami was at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Repair costs were estimated to be between $450 million and $700 million. The Navy decided to scrap the ship and it was towed to Washington state for dismantling.

Duplex built cabs and chassis for use by fire truck manufacturers that did not have their own chassis.

I always watched "Newhart" but I don't remember this episode. The show was supposedly set in an inn that Bob Newhart owned in Vermont. Tom Poston was the maintenance man. TV shows are not real life, a Mack "L" model fire engine did not have keys, there were two pull knobs and two starter buttons.

NFPA regulations may be "recommendations" and "not law" but good luck explaining that to a jury during a lawsuit. A sharp lawyer will ask , " if these regulations were approved by your peers why didn't you follow them?" Many cases have been lost by not following the NFPA.

In 1919, the United States War Department sponsored a transcontinental convoy of 72 trucks from New York City to San Francisco, CA. The intent of the convoy was to show the importance of motor vehicles to defense. The convoy followed the new Lincoln Highway but there were many obstacles and poor roads along the way. It took two months to reach San Francisco. One of the Army participants was Lt. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Perhaps it was his participation in this event that led him to sponsor the new Interstate Highway System that was started while he was president in the 1950s. Information from "Mac

Looks well equipped for any emergency.

Hoot: Nice looking engine. The Chrysler engines were installed in the Macks for a military contract, although a few were sold to civilian departments. Most Mack "B" models used Mack "707" gas engines. My department in New Hampshire had five "B"s, all with the "707" engine. The first Mack diesels in fire apparatus were installed in three "B"s purchased by the Hamilton, Bermuda Fire Brigade in 1960. Enjoy your unique engine.