AndyC3J

It does seem to be a dying tradition in many areas, including here in Orange. Quite a few new rigs have been placed in service over the past few years without any kind of ceremony or party at all....or if there was one, it wasn't advertised much. Whether it be fear of injury, damage, taxpayer backlash, etc. Who knows? It's far from the "given" that it once was.

Winona Lake looks great! Guess they changed their minds re: unit number? I like the idea of listing retired rigs available. Quite a few I'd love to own myself, if only I had the resources necessary to do so. Yeah, I dream big....LOL!

Some enforcement of the 50 PSI and Fog Stream only rules that appear on most flyers could eliminate such problems. It is when people stop being responsible that bad things happen which give such events the bad rep that they have. It's unfortunate that some people think such events are a waste of time, etc., and they are certainly entitled to their opinions. But, the "all work, no play" mentality is not good for morale or retaining members, either. Gotta have a little fun and be sociable once in a while, just do it safely.

North Richland Hills: "Not for sale". Yeah, doesn't exactly look like a demo to me, but thanks for the clarification.....LOL! Nice shots, Ben. I've seen how difficult it sometimes is to get pics in shows like that. Well done!

I'll be there first thing in the AM with camera in hand. Sounds like we'll have a good turnout from what Jeff told me yesterday. Looking forward to it!

Yeah, Ed is "good people". He's been telling me for years that his dream retirement is to park an RV on Andy's property and letter each of those rigs as they get restored, or at least cleaned up. I see he's gotten his hands on a couple already.

Legal notice for New Hampton (Orange Co.) seeking bids for a 102' quint. Florida's (Orange) new rescue is complete, not sure if delivered yet? It's a KME medium duty rescue on a Freightliner M2-106 four door 4x4 chassis. Construction has begun on a Spartan ERV pumper for Wyckoff, NJ (Bergen) and a 93' mid-mount platform for Congers, NY (Rockland). Also underway is a Ferrara 100' rear mount platform for East Fishkill, NY (Dutchess).

Campbell Hall (Orange Co.) took delivery of their new rescue earlier this week. It's built by UST Fire Apparatus (formerly US Tanker) on a four-door International TerraStar chassis. Production has started on the following: Kenworth/Pierce tanker for Goshen (Orange) and Seagrave engines for Bedford Hills (Westchester) and Tallman (Rockland). Delivery for Maybrook's new engine has been pushed back to November, and Washington Heights' Freightliner/Ferrara medium rescue is due in mid-October. Sparrowbush (Orange) seeking bids again for a new pumper-tanker. That's about all I have. Anyone else have any further updates? Have not heard who Pine Bush went with for an engine, or if an order has even been placed yet.

Don't know all the facts, but I am going to guess that this is going to be more of an addition than a full replacement. Time will tell. I know he still has plenty of rigs at his other locations as well.

When, and where, is the Westchester County convention parade this year? Thanks in advance.

Tuxedo's engines have been delivered. Park Ridge, NJ (Bergen Co.) has taken delivery of a new Pierce Arrow XT pumper, designated as Engine 4.

Don't know how many of you have ever seen this before (or if it's been posted here earlier and I missed it), but I stumbled across this video today and was quite impressed by it. A 17 year old female explorer sets up a porta-tank operation all by herself in 2 min. and 30 sec. Kudos to this young lady for learning her craft well, and also an honorable mention to the truck committee and apparatus manufacturer for designing a rig that can be operated by a single person if need be. Upon further examination, it appears this clip was uploaded four years ago. Wonder how she's doing today? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-VHjdTSYLs#t=14

One of Tuxedo's (Orange) two new KME engines (E-569 for Sterling Forest Co. 2) is on both KME's website and Facebook page. It will be on display at the fire expo in Harrisburg, PA next weekend.

I would think that they wouldn't necessarily have to purchase a brand spanking new rig, when they could very easily acquire another used one that's in decent shape for a fraction of the cost.

The apparatus news page on Eli's site (10-75.net) suggests a 100' rear mount Ferrara platform for East Fishkill. No such beast is shown on Ferrara's "In Production" page as of yet, however. Updates for Orange Co.: Washington Heights' rescue due in August since switching to Ferrara, and Mechanicstown's Seagrave engine (which I am now told will replace 125, rather than 118) is due in late May. Still no word on Pine Bush or Sparrowbush's bids.

I don't know what beer vs. liquor has to do with it. What I meant was that banning alcohol from the firehouse (which, like I said earlier, I agree with) is not going to stop guys from running calls drunk. It's only going to give them one less place to get that way. I don't drink. I don't understand the allure of doing so....never have, never will. I get aggravated when I hear co-workers go on and on about how much they drank or how hard they partied over the weekend. Even worse, went to a wetdown last year where no beer was served, and that's all most of those in attendance did was b**** about the lack of beer. Some even blamed the poor turnout on the lack of beer. Yeah, I'm sure the crappy weather had nothing to do with it. Sorry, but I don't go to those things to get smashed. I go there to photograph fire trucks. Back to the original subject, the root of the problem is that the guy not only ran a call, but drove a rig, while drunk (or close to it). Get to the root of what caused that. Where it started is irrelevant. What's going to stop people from responding from bars, parties, or their own homes after "getting their drink on". Getting a handle on THOSE issues is what's going to stop this situation from repeating itself. Removing the stuff from the firehouse is just the first step in the right direction.

I may have missed something here, but where, exactly, in that article does it say the guy got drunk IN the firehouse? I agree that the firehouse isn't the time or place for such activity, but removing the beer from the station isn't going to eliminate the problem at hand at all.

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point (Orange) has received - or soon will receive - a new Pierce Saber pumper, one of several headed to Army bases around the country. Link to pic on Pierce's Flickr site: https://www.flickr.com/photos/piercemfg/13473416575/ Washington Heights (Orange) has placed an order for a medium duty Ferrara rescue to be built on a 4-door Freightliner chassis. Expected delivery in October. Mechanicstown's (Orange) new Seagrave engine has started production.

Does anyone know who Pine Bush or Sparrowbush (both in Orange) went with for their respective new rigs, or if orders have officially been placed? Also, while not specifically referenced in the OP, info about Sullivan (NY), Sussex (NJ) and Pike (PA) counties is also welcome, if we have any members from (or with connections to) those areas.

69-12 appears in the current issue of Fire Apparatus Journal, also courtesy of Mr. Vaccaro.

East Rutherford, NJ still has an open cab 1955 Ahrens-Fox/Beck pumper. And, a friend of mine still (if I'm not mistaken) has the subject of the OP in his collection.

Thought this was going to include the group doing the dance on the "blue floor" at Pierce following final inspection of their new rig.

A little late here, but I, too, am glad to hear that there were no serious injuries to anyone involved, and that recovery is coming along nicely. Also happy to hear that E-138 is still "alive" and well. One of my favorite rigs in the area, and one of several that I wish I had the resources to acquire and care for once it comes time for replacement. What a beauty! Best of luck to the members of the Golden's Bridge FD as they progress toward a full recovery. Be strong, and stay safe!

Yeah, the stripe pattern is a little off in the front, and the crew cab window configuration is slightly different as was already mentioned. The other thing I noticed is the windshield wipers....they abandoned the traditional vertical blade two-arm wiper that KME usually uses in favor of the large single arm horizontal wiper that has become standard on all other city rigs over the past several years for whatever reason. That having been said, if this rig does hold up and perform as well as it looks, I think they will have a good thing going here.

Does anyone know who won the bids (and if orders have officially been placed) for any of the following?: Cronomer Valley (rescue pumper), Fort Montgomery (pumper-tanker), Tuxedo (2 engines), Washingtonville (engine - I've heard Ferrara, not sure if confirmed), Goshen (tower ladder). Orange Lake opens bids next week for two engines. Not sure which two are being replaced (keeping in mind as well that Winona Lake is part of Orange Lake Fire District). Any info that can be shared?