A Quick Trip To Houston..(Apparatus Photos)

[x635 4,066]

Yesterday, I had the oppurtunity to go on a quick trip to Houston

First up is the new Ladder 68, a 2010 Pierce Arrow XT with a 100' Aluminum stick.

Next up is Ladder 68's stablemate, Engine 68, a Ferrara Inferno

Paramedic Squad 68, 2010 Chevrolet 2500HD/remounted Frazer box

District 68, 2010 Chevrolet Suburban

Barbeque 68, built by one of the firefighters assigned to Station 68

Houston FD Station 28

Every station has a lot of PRIDE in their district and company...

Houston Fire Department Ambulance 73 2010 Chevrolet 3500HD/Frazer Bilt Remount

Houston FD Ladder 7, Ferrara Inferno w/ Smeal 100' Aerial

Houston PD Patrol Car

Houston PD BAT Van:

Houston Station 6, now retired...

[efdcapt115 1,511]

Oh man, would I love to get my hands on that old Station 6. You could build quite a home/s out of that beautiful building.

[x635 4,066]

I forgot to add- they still use poles...

[AndyC3J 190]

SHARP looking Pierce! Interesting to see them moving away from Ferrara after being a repeat customer for several years, but I guess whatever works for them.

Don't see too many Chief's vehicles around here with push bars on the front.

[x635 4,066]

SHARP looking Pierce! Interesting to see them moving away from Ferrara after being a repeat customer for several years, but I guess whatever works for them.

Don't see too many Chief's vehicles around here with push bars on the front.

The explanation by one of the guys who works at that station, as far as the aerial, is they wanted the Pierce Aluminum aerial because it offers a wider, easy to climb walkway and is more firefighter friendly then the Ferrara spec'd (Smeal built) sticks did.

As far as the push bumper, they are pretty much standard on Texas emergency vehicles for a variety of reasons. One of the main ones is being able to clear disbled vehicles from dangerous locations in emergency situations, and to be able to mount sirens and speakers that can be seen and heard. And on some vehicles, for protection.

[nfd2004 750]

Those are Great pictures there "x635". Thank you for taking the time to post them and keeping us in mind. At one time about 30-40 years ago, Houston was one of the Fastest Growing Cities in the Country. They were on a Massive recruitment to hire more cops and firefighters as the city expanded. I don't know if that still holds or not. Around the same time All of Houstons Fire Apparatus were all White in color. Today Houston is the Fourth Largest City in the Country.

But here's something to think about. If Brooklyn, N.Y. was a City, Houston would be in the Number Five Spot. "Sorry Houston, make room for Brooklyn".

Thanks for the pictures.

Edited October 26, 2010 by nfd2004

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

Those are Great pictures there "x635". Thank you for taking the time to post them and keeping us in mind. At one time about 30-40 years ago, Houston was one of the Fastest Growing Cities in the Country. They were on a Massive recruitment to hire more cops and firefighters as the city expanded. I don't know if that still holds or not. Around the same time All of Houstons Fire Apparatus were all White in color. Today Houston is the Fourth Largest City in the Country.

But here's something to think about. If Brooklyn, N.Y. was a City, Houston would be in the Number Five Spot. "Sorry Houston, make room for Brooklyn".

Thanks for the pictures.

Houston still is one of the fastest growing cities in the country part in thanks to the mass exodus of NOLA residents to Houston. An article in the times said that in less than 15 years, Houston will have a larger population than Brooklyn.

[sfrd18 360]

Awesome shots!!! I really like Ladder 68's new stick. Now I'm just guessing, but District 68 is numbered that way because it's at Station 68. I'm sure that there aren't 68 Districts in the HFD, right!?

[sfrd18 360]

Those are Great pictures there "x635". Thank you for taking the time to post them and keeping us in mind. At one time about 30-40 years ago, Houston was one of the Fastest Growing Cities in the Country. They were on a Massive recruitment to hire more cops and firefighters as the city expanded. I don't know if that still holds or not. Around the same time All of Houstons Fire Apparatus were all White in color. Today Houston is the Fourth Largest City in the Country.

But here's something to think about. If Brooklyn, N.Y. was a City, Houston would be in the Number Five Spot. "Sorry Houston, make room for Brooklyn".

Thanks for the pictures.

According to Wikipedia, Brooklyn does have more people than Houston. According to the articles, in 2009, Houston had a population of 2,257,926, and Brooklyn had a population of 2,567,098, so, unless those sources are incorrect(after all it is Wikipedia), if Brooklyn were a city, it would be the 4th largest city in the U.S.

Edited October 26, 2010 by sfrd18

[SteveOFD 176]

According to Wikipedia, Brooklyn does have more people than Houston. According to the articles, in 2009, Houston had a population of 2,257,926, and Brooklyn had a population of 2,567,098, so, unless those sources are incorrect(after all it is Wikipedia), if Brooklyn were a city, it would be the 4th largest city in the U.S.

It looks like the Houston figure is incorrect, while the Brooklyn figure is correct. See Census.Gov - Brooklyn, NY and Census.Gov - Houston, TX

Edited October 26, 2010 by SteveOFD

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

Don’t Look Back, Brooklyn; Houston Is Gaining on You

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/dont-look-back-brooklyn-houston-is-gaining-on-you/?scp=1&sq=houston&st=cse

[IzzyEng4 427]

I got to operate a Pierce aluminum aerial during my Aerial Operations class and they are sweet!!! Little weird hearing a "tin foil" sound when operating it since I'm used to steel ladders but operations was smooth, set up was a breeze and just an overall well-built truck!

[x635 4,066]

The station has an EXCELLENT webpage (a little outdated though):

http://firehouse68.com

Awesome shots!!! I really like Ladder 68's new stick. Now I'm just guessing, but District 68 is numbered that way because it's at Station 68. I'm sure that there aren't 68 Districts in the HFD, right!?

Yep, it's District 68 because it's in District 68. There are 22 Districts in Houston. Don't know why they number them the way they do.

[x635 4,066]

Paramedic Squad 68, one of the busiest in Houston, awaits it's next run..

[M' Ave 1,466]

Don’t Look Back, Brooklyn; Houston Is Gaining on You

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/dont-look-back-brooklyn-houston-is-gaining-on-you/?scp=1&sq=houston&st=cse

Why are we comparing a city to a single Borough of NYC? "If Brooklyn were a city......", well, it ain't!

[markmets415 524]

good stuff as always, thanks for sharing Seth

[x635 4,066]

Oh man, would I love to get my hands on that old Station 6. You could build quite a home/s out of that beautiful building.

Me too!

You can read about it's interesting history here:

http://hfdstation6.com/history.html

And it's in the 6th Ward, a very cool part of Houston:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_Ward,_Houston

I don't know what the status of the station is, but it's in a National Register Of Historic Places neighborhood, so the facade has to stay intact somewhat.