JBE

Wait, you mean like one of these?? Orlando, last Thursday. Thanx to my girl, Nikki. For those of you unfamiliar with my little "tradition" my father was NYPD for 30 years. In 1991, a friend of mine came to Lake Carmel from England and we took a tour of the city. We were out in front of the old Hard Rock, and there was a radio car parked out front. My dad got a picture of my friend in front of it. I immediately went for the position. Few days later, Kent PD was kind enough to oblige. Over the years, for some giggles, I have assumed the position, in LA, Baltimore, Honolulu, and a few other places..I do it more now to honor my dad, cause I know he'd get a laugh out of it. Mac, gimme a call at the CO when the new rig comes in. I got pictures to take..PS, shirt provided by the Dirty Drummer, 44th Street in Phoenix. Great food and a nice place. Ask for Erika, tell her JBE sent you!!!

There was at least one Haz-Tac bus there. I'm gonna take a stab and say 19Henry or 27Henry??

Poor Ed...Great guy too.

So I was out in Arizona last year, and unfortunately, Family Business called me back home a lot sooner than I had expected. After all was said and done, I decided I needed a break. So it was back to Arizona and off to do some chasing, amongst other things like big burger eating and downing a few drinks with an old pal. It's out and about in Arizona, Part Deux!!!! First stop was the Hall of Flame. I Highly recommend this place to anyone who is into antique apparatus. They have an incredible display of old equipment and rigs from as far back as the late 18th century. Here's some leather hose from way back when.. Mockups of a a bike medic and smokejumper. A firehouse mockup.. More coming..

And the last stop on my trip, Fayetteville. Home of the Swamp Dogs, a minor league ball team that is like the Orphans in the movie the Warriors. "So far down they ain't even on the map!!" Fayetteville Engine 6 and Truck 6. Heading over to Fayetteville Station 5, Engine 5 with Squad/Rescue 5. Engine 5 was a rig they absorbed from another department. The red/silver is a nice touch. Then yesterday morning, I packed my stuff, gassed up the Rock Box, and made my way home. 3120 miles in 10 days. Over 50 rigs shot, and at least three spotted that I couldn't shoot. Orlando Tower 10, College Park, MD Engine 121(Trumpeter made a model of it a few years ago. It's in my closet waiting to be turned into a fictional Carmel rig) and Baltimore City Medic 9 as I was stopping for gas. I want to thank everyone for the hospitality and showing me around, especially my Carmel High buddies and the old Truckie hisself. Extra special thanx to Jeff Lampert of the Miami Dade Fire Rescue Supply Office for seriously hooking a brotha up. And thanks go out to the following police departments for being such good sports. Phoenix, Miami-Dade, Orlando, Port St Lucie, and Fayetteville. The next trip will probably be in the summer, and I think I'm Wisconsin bound..

Brush rig 541. 571, I presume this is a quick response vehicle/light rescue/EMS. They got a run for a diff breather while I was there and they went out in this. Rescue 561.. Cumberland County EMS Medic 123 just happened to be out front. Next stop, Fayetteville..

And we're off to North Carolina. I stopped in to see an old friend of mine from my Carmel High days, and my days working at Waldbaums(now AnP) while she worked over in the old Roy Rogers, which became an Arby's which burned down and I don't remember what it is now.. After getting a lay of the land, and passing a NASTY rollover with an SUV a few miles from Fort Bragg while on my way to see another Carmel High pal, it was off to it.. This is Cumberland County Station 5, the Cumberland Road FD. They are a combination paid/vollie house. The numbering system they use for rigs is somewhat reminiscent of Putnam and Dutchess' system of unit ID's... Engine 531 pumper/tanker Engine 532 another pumper/tanker Engine 511, with a beautiful memorial to Chelsey the Dalmatian.

I'm going to take a guess and say platforms are tower ladders, and aerials appear to be Quints. However, L-10 appears to be a quint. It may also be the size of the ladder.

After thanking Kenny, and cursing the fact that we didn't imbibe in ANY JD while I was with him, I packed my stuff and broke north for Port St Lucie. But not before I stopped and shot this little beauty. Dania Beach, Engine 93. They are quartered with a Medic Unit in a combination house. Combination being them and Hollywood Fire Station 74. I had shot some of the rigs in PSL my last time around. So I just shot the Gator at Tradition Field while I shot at least 60 pictures of the Mets working out. I stopped in Orlando for a few days, but weather kept me from shooting anything decent. Except for this...Firehouse Subs went off and painted this lovely American La France either 900 or 1000 series rig up to look like a dalmatian. Seen on this trip.Orlando Tower 10, an incredibly nice looking Sutphen TL, not too much different from Port Chesters rig. Also Orlando Engine 12, which I think may have been a spare. So after I made my patented All Hands, Additional Engine and Truck Chili for my hosts, I packed up and went even further north. Our next Station Stop...Fayetteville, North Carolina.

As we were heading away from the shops, we happened upon a car wreck just before FIU, right by the Turnpike. I look at the old truckie, and say. "I'm taking pictures, be right back!!!" He laughs and then decides to film me shooting the rigs and wreck to continue his laughter. While I'm running across three lanes of traffic and getting myself in position. Miami Dade Engine 47, Aerial 29 and the wreck. I think they were cutting someone out. The Aerial was the last shot I got before the camera decided to die on me. Next stop, Port St. Lucie, the Mets, and beyond..

This is Miami-Dade's Unimog Brush Rig. This thing is a beast. I like the plow up front, too. Here we have a line up of spare and reserve aerials, pretty much stretching back to the early 90's up to that new Aerial 10. There are some refurbs in there, like the Pierce with the Chrome grill. This is Aerial 43, getting worked on.

I start running around the back lot of the shops like a kid on Christmas. First up is an Engine/Tanker spare. This was a pain in the neck to shoot because of the angle and close proximity to the fence behind me. Here's Miami-Dades Tactical Communications rig. Similar to the FDNY Field Comm..I can hear Ken in my head right now. Aaaaand the Field Comm. Spare Chiefs car. Here's a really old spare aerial..Still marked as Metro-Dade Spare Bus for my brother.. More to come...

So after my trip to the Heart Attack Grill and avoiding Nurse Alicias JD infused charms...It was over to Phoenix Fire Dispatch. I got the tour, sat in for a little while, and shot some rigs outside. Here's Engine 22. Engine 42. South district deputy chief. Then finally, after a well earned assumption of the position, keeping up a tradition. Phoenix Truck 1. As always, thanx to the members of the Tempe FD(Robin, you rock!!) and Phoenix FD for the hospitality and good times. Get ready folks, the big one is coming as I head down south for...The I-95 DEATH MARCH!!!!

Off to Tempe to shoot some stuff I missed the last time around. First up is Squad 278. They are cross staffed by Engine 278, quartered at Tempe Station 1. We then move down to Tempe Station 4, Engine 274 and Scene Support 274, which idiot me apears to have deleted and didn't save on the computer. Oops. Then up to Station 3 to shoot the ladder and ladder tender. I still think the ladder tender is a bad idea, or at least it's not well thought out. Staff it independently so you have the ladder available. PS this ladder is a spare. The LT is not yet in service, they are still affixing the brackets and trays in the compartments. That's done by the crew of the firehouse to put things where they want it. Last stop in Tempe was the training center to pick up some shirts. Shot this chiefs car before I went in. Next stop Phoenix..

I'm not too big on antique apparatus, but I saw this British ERF and was snapping away. Light was kinda bad so apologies for the quality. Here's a couple of Sept.11th memorials. Very nicely done. They also have listings of all the Firehouse Magazine Award winners since its inception. Next Stop, Tempe FD!!!

fdnytrucks.com Engine 160 in Staten Island and then Special Operation Command in the special units section

Almost forgot. Due to the implementation of the SOC response Matrix in late 2004, these guy go to a number of different rescue and emergency incidents. They are doing I would say 8-10 runs a week, more so in the summer with water rescues. With all the multiples we've been having lately(40 in the month of January alone), they'll be doing a lot of running and justifying their existence. Plus, it's SOC, so there's little chance they would get shut down.

Tactical Support Units are staffed 24/7 by one or two firefighters. They have the little boats, a lot of lights, and extra tools to assist at incidents where required/needed. These were the evolution from the old Searchlight Units.

Definitely a problem in Hotlanta. I doubt it took them a half hour to get in there. CAD Failure, wrong address, or not. Time always seems to drag when it's hitting the fan.

Best bet is Amazon, I hit Best Buy in Cortlandt Town Center last night, and none of the stores in the area had it. Wal Mart was no good either, so I hit Amazon.

Newark is starting to look like Pennsylvania, all these rigs with differing paint jobs.

I miss the old days when advertisers just painted stuff on the bare brick sides of buildings.

I don't care for politics, nor do I care for politicians in general. I thought his speech was rousing, and actually, moving in some parts. I'm going to take a wait and see approach, along with the attitude of, "OK Pal, you made it, now let's see what ya got!!" I wish him luck. He's going to need it. I just hope that the Republican Party doesn't crucify this guy the way they did Clinton. It seemed like from the beginning of Clintons campaign in 1992, all the way up to the minute he was impeached, the Republican Party did everything in their power to screw this guy over. He wasn't an angel by any stretch of the imagination. But, come on, let the guy do his job.

Copious amounts of foam, anyone??

Run, Runaway was a band called Slade. Had an awesome beginning to it. I Ran was Flock. Anyway, like I said the day that plane made the Emergency Landing at LAX a few years back, THAT'S the guy I want flying my plane!!!!