Firefighting '80s style

[efdcapt115 1,511]

Thanks to Dan Potter, FDNY (ret) for passing along this link to some incredible firefighting photos from the not so distant past. Yeah, you'll find a thousand things "wrong" with the gear, but the bravery, intensity, and the brotherhood comes shining through.

Warning: graphic images

http://eastofozroadtrips.com/fire/fire.htm

Edit: Take the time to read the introduction. I was caught up in the photos for quite a while and finally read the intro. Should have done it first.

Edited August 3, 2009 by efdcapt115

[x134 46]

I was thinking the same thing when I viewed these great shots!!!! Some of the things I see in those shots, I still see today ........ LOL

I DIDN'T SEE ANY RED BALL RUBBER GLOVES......LOL

Edited August 3, 2009 by x134

[efdcapt115 1,511]

Hey Don,

Thankfully you won't be seeing anymore of those steel Scott tanks. Remember how heavy those suckers were?

~Stay safe bro

[x134 46]

Hey Don,

Thankfully you won't be seeing anymore of those steel Scott tanks. Remember how heavy those suckers were?

~Stay safe bro

The old 2A was a killer on the back, YOU COULD CHEAT A LITTLE MORE WITH THE MASK HOSE! I agree, those steel tanks were very heavy compared to todays Masks. Now you are bringing me back to the late 80s!

[frenchie477 2]

Awesome photos. Thanks for sharing these!

Edited August 3, 2009 by frenchie477

[FFPCogs 863]

Great pics, although I don't see anything wrong with the turnout gear at all...

Cogs

[efdcapt115 1,511]

I DIDN'T SEE ANY RED BALL RUBBER GLOVES......LOL

The 2nd Conrad Tinney photo........

Edited August 3, 2009 by efdcapt115

[IzzyEng4 427]

The old 2A was a killer on the back, YOU COULD CHEAT A LITTLE MORE WITH THE MASK HOSE! I agree, those steel tanks were very heavy compared to todays Masks. Now you are bringing me back to the late 80s!

......and shove the trunk down your coat if and when you got into "trouble"!!! Glad I got to experience that sort of "old school" training. Made me think more how to control my air.

[x134 46]

The 2nd Conrad Tinney photo........

10-4 k!! missed them!!!!!

[efdcapt115 1,511]

......and shove the trunk down your coat if and when you got into "trouble"!!! Glad I got to experience that sort of "old school" training. Made me think more how to control my air.

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't we looking at first generation 4.5s?

[BFD1054 1,552]

Capt, thank you for sharing these photos that were passed on to you. And thank you for advising to read the intro first.

Wow is all that comes to mind. These pictures are brilliant in every way! They capture the entire essence of firefighting in those days.

These guys had balls of steel to say the least.

[FiftyOnePride 100]

I will add this: http://www.thebravestonline.com/news.html?...=1&id=16812

Early 90's Firefighting from Louisiana.

Nice pictures by the way!

Edited August 4, 2009 by FiftyOnePride

[JFLYNN 681]

Thanks to Dan Potter, FDNY (ret) for passing along this link to some incredible firefighting photos from the not so distant past. Yeah, you'll find a thousand things "wrong" with the gear, but the bravery, intensity, and the brotherhood comes shining through.

Warning: graphic images

http://eastofozroadtrips.com/fire/fire.htm

Edit: Take the time to read the introduction. I was caught up in the photos for quite a while and finally read the intro. Should have done it first.

Thanks for posting those. I really liked those pics. Like Tom Wanstall, this photographer had a knack for capturing firefighters facial expressions in the midst of the action, which really seems to tell a story and make the pictures artistic. You don't see that in many fire photographers today. I frankly am not all that interested in pics of big shiny red trucks or scary orange flames and black smoke. To me, it's the human element that is the beauty of our profession and this photog captures that beautifully.

[grumpyff 1,159]

Thanks for the link, those photos are amazing. Probably never see photos like that taken ever again, due to department/city regulations due liability(lawsuits), and things like airpack face pieces blocking a good view of the firefighter's faces.

Edited August 4, 2009 by grumpyff

[PCFD ENG58 1,085]

Yes fireball gloves melt on your hands not your mouth!!

Edited August 4, 2009 by PCFD ENG58

[FirNaTine 370]

And even without all the new PPE, I'm sure many of those guys went back to the Station, nursed their injuries if any and got ready for the next Job. You don't see that anymore. We now have a line of guys fighting for the back of the bus and not a Liberty Lines one.

[cas2383 22]

Some great shots, no one would even be allowed that close anymore.

[x129K 1,393]

When firemen were firemen!

[x129K 1,393]

Thanks for posting those. I really liked those pics. Like Tom Wanstall, this photographer had a knack for capturing firefighters facial expressions in the midst of the action, which really seems to tell a story and make the pictures artistic. You don't see that in many fire photographers today. I frankly am not all that interested in pics of big shiny red trucks or scary orange flames and black smoke. To me, it's the human element that is the beauty of our profession and this photog captures that beautifully.

I agree - the firemen themselves have always been my favorite component of a fire picture.

The biggest advantage I see in that series linked is the ACCESS! The photog had amazing access! Right there in the hallways with the members - gives an insight to the job that not alot of people see.....

How many of you Officers would let a photog in a burning building today?

[x134 46]

Yes fireball gloves melt on your hands not your mouth!!

LMAO!

[x134 46]

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't we looking at first generation 4.5s?

Yes sir we are. When you said the steel tanks, it just brought me back to when I joined thr fire service in my Volly Department in Dutchess, we had 2A's with steel tanks. We then upgraded to 2.2 masks in the mid 90's. We now use 4.5's pak 50 . I like the wire frames my self with the alligator clips. It just fits me better and I can get the waist strap tight, then loosen the shoulder straps.

YES I SAID WAIST STRAP!!!!! LOL

[efdcapt115 1,511]

Yes sir we are. When you said the steel tanks, it just brought me back to when I joined thr fire service in my Volly Department in Dutchess, we had 2A's with steel tanks. We then upgraded to 2.2 masks in the mid 90's. We now use 4.5's pak 50 .

For some of the younger members' edification, the Scott air pack has indeed come a long way. The 4.5 was a big improvement for the fire service. NASA got involved in creating the design. It removed the regulator (that used to be mounted on your chest with a low pressure hose connecting to the face piece on the model Don is talking about) and placed it on the newly designed facepiece. The facepiece afforded much more visability than the previous models, and this helped make it feel less claustrophobic.

Positive pressure was also a new concept for the air pack. The earliest 4.5s had a problem though. Once donned and turned on, if removed there was no way of stopping the air flow short of turning off the bottle. Then they improved it again. Now if the facepiece was removed it would blow air for a few seconds at full volume, then stop automatically. The problem then became how to restart the air flow. I remember they retrofitted all the regulators with a click valve. To restart the air flow, one need to blow softly into the facepiece. This would reset the regulator. Problem was it was a delicate procedure to restart the air flow, and I remember many brothers, many times who just couldn't get the knack of the light "puff" into the facepiece to get the air flowing again.

This and many other problems were solved when they finally put the button on top of the regulator to manually shut the air flow.

[efdcapt115 1,511]

Like Tom Wanstall, this photographer had a knack for capturing firefighters facial expressions in the midst of the action, which really seems to tell a story and make the pictures artistic. You don't see that in many fire photographers today. I frankly am not all that interested in pics of big shiny red trucks or scary orange flames and black smoke. To me, it's the human element that is the beauty of our profession and this photog captures that beautifully.

Eloquently stated John. I also find the textures and colors in the images compelling. The years, decades of paint layers on the walls and door frames inside the tenements, the faded and dirty turnout coats, the charred, bent helmets still showing the pressed design of the leather, the warped shapes of the helmet shields, and folded down/or pulled up boots all add to the beauty of these images.

[wraftery 1,275]

If you have a Halligan (a real one) handy. take a look at it's engineering. Its awesome leverage and versatility are accomplished through subtile curves, angles, and grindings. All of this was developed in the brain of one man. Many have tried to improve on it and give it their owm name, but none have succeeded.

While you are reading this thread, I would be willing to bet that a company officer is on a run someplace in this country, and calling out the good Chief's name to his crew...HALLIGAN!

[Remember585 815]

Gear, SCBAs, rigs, sure, they're ok. But it was always the moustaches (or "truckstaches") that made them men!

JFlynn - You are 100% right that the faces aren't captured as they used to be. Only two photographers I can think of that can do it - Frank Becerra & JT Camp. JT has captured some of our guys' faces in the midst of a call - and those are the best pics.

Great photos, thanks for sharing!

[IzzyEng4 427]

Yes sir we are. When you said the steel tanks, it just brought me back to when I joined thr fire service in my Volly Department in Dutchess, we had 2A's with steel tanks. We then upgraded to 2.2 masks in the mid 90's. We now use 4.5's pak 50 . I like the wire frames my self with the alligator clips. It just fits me better and I can get the waist strap tight, then loosen the shoulder straps.

YES I SAID WAIST STRAP!!!!! LOL

And I was reminicing when I first got into firefighting and my company still had 2As. We later moved on to the InnerSpiros and now have Scott Fifties. I wish my first department had the old Scott 4.5s they were a really great improvement.

[tdc202 0]

Great Pictures . Thanks for sharing them. I remember as a younster Dennis Smith had a book out too called "Firehouse" I beleive and it was full of pictures like that too. I met him amd he signed it for me as a young child and inside he wrote the names of the guys that he worked with that were in his book" Report from Engine Co 82"

[R1SmokeEater 359]

http://fdnysbravest.com/

Updated with more pix.

[x134 46]

Great Great shots! I remember the explosion in Hunts Point at Con Ed like it was yesterday... I hope fdnysbravest site keeps getting updated.

Photo courtesy of www.fdnysbravest.com Michael Dick

Edited August 13, 2009 by x134

[dillondotcom 16]

Does anyone have the run down for that job? That would be amazing!