IzzyEng4

Okay, some more.

That's it for now. Will post more later. And as always, these pictures are mine and no unauthorized use is permitted without my expressed consent.

This is a replica of a typical response back during the 1960s for the DCFD. Up until the 1990s, all engine companies ran with two pieces, the engine and the hose wagon. So you would typically get three engine companies (6 pumpers), a ladder company, the rescue squad and a battalion chief. The hose wagons would take the hydrant and lay into the scene then the engine attachment would hook up to the hydrant and pump to the hose wagon. One of the big thing DCFD is key on is to "cover the rear". One engine company always goes to the rear of the building due to the way they are situated in the city.

This is the meeting room for for the FFA and its contents. Response proclamation of DCFD and FFA to the Pentagon September 11, 2001. The Constitution and By-Laws of the Columbia Fire Company. A really neat picture of DC's ten Hahn fire engines shortly after their delivery and lined up in front of their most famous first due building. This was the biggest single order of apparatus at one time by what I was told.

Badges from the US. Badges and patches from other countries.

Back in the day, everyone on a neighborhood, town, village, ect., had to own a bucket for the local fire brigade. The number of buckets required back then are similar to the rules for extinguishers in a building today. If it was a one story home, the you had one bucket, two floors - two buckets, businesses may have more. Each bucket had the owners name on them so they could be returned after a fire. The fill line was comprised of men either throwing water onto the fire or into a hand tub fire engine. The bucket return line to the fill site was comprised of women and children. Everyone in the community was involved!!! Many early fire companies were the organizers of the old bucket brigades and its members were tasked to organize the water flow, sack and salvage a building's contents and guard over the homeowner's items. Pretty much explains how some companies like fire patrols, fire police, ect., today lay their histories too.

More artifacts on display.

This is what caught my eye. How many "stove pipe" leather parade hats are left in existence? Here is a few and three of them are from the Columbia, Hibernia and Franklin companies of Washington (if my memory serve me correctly from the tour). The helmet on the top right rack in this picture was given to the Washington firemen from a chief of Baltimore during the Great Fire in their town. DC's firemen went to assist their brothers in Baltimore when the call came out. The helmet was given in appreciation of their response. After loading up their equipment on a train, the DC firemen arrive in Baltimore in 30 minutes at full steam. Quite a speed back then. DCFD members used leather helmets then switched to the aluminum Senators for a while. Then they switched to the old "duck-bill" style then to a more modern Carins composite. Now members can wear their own leather helmets as long as its an approved one by OSHA (there is that four-lettered dirty word!! ).

This case had some interesting items from the old days. Helmet shields from the volunteer days and a typical old style "hand-tub" used before the paid department. Close up on a lantern. A little history on this piece, the number of the does not meet up with the company name in DCFD's history. It came from elsewhere and DCFD put the number 15 on it.

Here's for the Gamewell fans. 1895 alarm decoder. And the back.

This is the view when you walk into the door on the third floor. The history in this room spans two centuries. This is a department picture from the early 1900s. Though you couldn't have the entire department there at the Capitol, this was one heck of a "cut and paste" photo of the department. Not bad for an age without computers. The active firehouse for the time surround the photo and the chiefs, assistants and company officers are in between (sorry for the blurry photo). We complain having no staffing and crappy work hours. How about working 7 days a week, then get 1 day off, 3 hours a day for meals, and if someone was out sick or on vacation, your day off was automatically cancelled!!! Next is the size of the City of Washington, District of Columbia prior to the annexation of Georgetown, Maryland and areas north of the line shown in this map. Originally Arlington, Virginia was part of the District of Columbia but was given back to Virgina before the current DC limits. Okay fellow union workers, and I mean all union workers. How would you like to have to petition Congress for a pay raise????

Great pics! My friend has lived in the apartment building that houses E-40 / L-35 for many years. Usually when I'm down there visiting, I stop in to say hello. I still recognize the names on the shift board from 9/11, though I didn't know them well, I remember meeting most of those fellows over the years.

Phil, my cousin is up at the HQ MSG CNTR, I'll check which dispatch is going where. Rumors that have been floating around are Troop-I will be heading to either HQ or G, B and A will merge with Troop L, and a couple others going to E and K. As for Troop W, another rumor was with the new "Airport Authority" who knows what will happen there. Not sure if any of the dispatchers are on the chopping block, there is not many of them anyway for CSP. Again just rumors and hearsay, trying to find out what is what. I still have a lot of friends working dispatch statewide.

He had an lol in the sentence, I think he got it!

ABA-CABA

I had the chance to operate Bolton, CT 105' Pierce aluminum aerial ladder during my aerial op course. Let me tell you those trucks are solid, well built and very nice to operate.

My friend's step-daughter is one of those being laid off as she was from the last graduating class. This shouldn't be happening as the CSP is already down approximately 151 members and there are an expected an approximate 200 retirements that will happen by the end of this year. Also the rumors of closing Troops I (Bethany) and B (Canaan) are going around again. B covers a very large area of towns that do not have their own police force and I covers 95% of New Haven county (with the exception Interstate 95 which is covered by G), one of the most populous regions in the state. Just doesn't make sense.

Yes, aka QF-1 / Engine 31.

I agree, though I am not a father but I am an uncle and would not want to experience this at all. This guy is sick and twisted, hope he suffers the same slow painful death this boy went through. Unfortunately the chair is too good for this bastard!!

Why it does really put a damper on us looking a piece of apparatus to a fire, its good to see no one was injured during this time. A few years back, a town by me had a similar incident with a (literally) brand new pumper. The truck was actually being delivered to the company with the dealer rep driving the truck and being ridden by a few members of the company receiving it. Only a mile down the road from the firehouse the truck caught fire and thankfully everyone got out okay. The truck was sent back to the company and rebuilt. To this day the rig has has no major problems since being rebuilt. I believe the cause of the fire was an oil line that was too close to the vehicle exhaust in the engine compartment (unknown if it was something that broke off or was an manufacturing error).

The ENGINE 260 Muster in Milford, CT will be held on September 10th, 2011 at Eisenhower Park. This is the 40th continuous year the muster has been held! Sponsored by the Engine 260, Inc. and the Southern Connecticut Antique Fire Apparatus Collectors. The day starts out with a motorcade to the park with the antique apparatus placed on display. Vendors, food and of course the firefighter's competition (dry events in the morning, water events in the afternoon) follow. Its a great day for the family just to hang out. If you never been to a Engine 260 muster, you are missing a fun day. More info at www.Engine260.org

So's the end of the world.

With the group of guys now running the show with the blessings of the old-timers, hopefully you'll see it for many more years. There was that worry a few years ago but there has been a dedicated group that has stepped up and want to keep it going. So Mo, will I see you up on the "Hill" this year??? :-)

One word, no. Unless I hear it from Vaughn and Jamie, its still going to continue. That rumor has been around as long as I've been in the fire service (20 years). Why stop something if attendance and participation each year has been great?? Heck, a few of the career departments around here started up teams again in the past few years.

I'm sure all of Station 1's trucks has the lightbars like that due to the bay door height at the firehouse, not the bridge. Station 2's trucks are not set up that way. http://crotonfallsfire.com/