From the Stronach Photo Files is a new addition to the Firebuff-Montreal/Firebuff.org website and will showcase the fireground photographs of Ian Stronach. From 1971 to 2000 Ian took thousands of photographs of fires and fire apparatus in Montreal, the surrounding areas and wherever around the world his work travels took him as the Manager of Fire Protection for Alcan Aluminum, the global aluminum company based in Montreal. Ian also was the Canadian Correspondent for Firehouse Magazine from the 1982 to 1995. Every two weeks From the Stronach Photo Files will present a new series of photographs of a major fire. As we post a new fire scene we will post one of the shots on firepics with a link to the rest of the topic.
The first fire is Montreal, May 18, 1974 - 3rd alarm, Box 3-1273 Delisle and Canning, 607 Chatham Street, rooming house, 4 dead.
Here is the link to [url="http://www.firebuff.org/stronach.htm"]From the Stronach Photo Files[/url]
Thank you Mark. Great Picture. It really brings back memories.
I grew up in the Montreal area of NDG. Stn 34 had a Mack B pumper and Stn 46 had a tiller similar to the picture. The only difference was it had a wooden ladder. Stn 34's ladder was a Mack B with a Magirus areial.
J. Gordon is lagging behind in digitizing ancient slides, so for now I will limit myself to offering sage comments on the historic significance of R. Ian's contributions.
Hell Maxim doesn't even know what digitizing slides means. I thinks it means making pictures on the computer out of slides. Even then I cannot figure out how to transmit what digital photos I have to fire pics. I have sent them other places but this site baffles this old guy.
MM <img src='http://www.firepics.net/groupboards/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsup.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />
Montreal, June 18th, 1978. 7th alarm = 5th alarm Box 2-2265 (2107 de La Salle) + 2nd alarm Box 2-2267 (Ontario and Letourneux); 2107 de La Salle Street, vacant Atlas Bedding Company factory, fire spread to homes at the rear on Letourneux Street.
For the rest of this series click [url="http://www.firebuff.org/stronach.htm"]From the Stronach Photo Files[/url]
Montreal, June 18th, 1978. 7th alarm = 5th alarm Box 2-2265 (2107 de La Salle) + 2nd alarm Box 2-2267 (Ontario and Letourneux); 2107 de La Salle Street, vacant Atlas Bedding Company factory, fire spread to homes at the rear on Letourneux Street.
For the rest of this series click [url="http://www.firebuff.org/stronach.htm"]From the Stronach Photo Files[/url]
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Absolutely fantastic photos, thanks so much for sharing them Mark!!! I'd love to see some of the more unusual apparatus photos that Ian took over the years (I was born 20 years too late, missed all the really neat stuff that the Province of Quebec had). Any chance you could post some in the apparatus forum as your time permits?
Absolutely fantastic photos, thanks so much for sharing them Mark!!! I'd love to see some of the more unusual apparatus photos that Ian took over the years (I was born 20 years too late, missed all the really neat stuff that the Province of Quebec had). Any chance you could post some in the apparatus forum as your time permits?
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I will ask Ian. I have seen some of his apparatus shots and he has lots.
I will ask Ian. I have seen some of his apparatus shots and he has lots.
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Thanks much Mark, I thought for some reason you would be posting both fire and apparatus, just reread your first post and saw it was only fire. I'd love to see what he's got, some very unique stuff up your way back in the day when he was photographing them. Take care and stay safe!
Montreal, October 29th, 1978. 5th alarm plus three engines and two ladders, Box 2-2123 (Notre Dame and Darling); 3336 Notre Dame Street East, Seaway Storage warehouse, previously the Dominion Textile Company Hochelaga Branch mill.[url="http://www.firebuff.org/stronach.htm"]From the Stronach Photo Files[/url]
The massive Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine Psychiatric Hospital, built in the late 1890’s and early 1900’s in the east end of Montreal, was the scene of three very large fires in its history; 1935, 1976 and 1977. The last and largest one involved a number of interconnected buildings housing many patients. Serious water supply problems required the MFD to send 36 of its 48 engine companies to the scene.
Montreal, November 27th, 1976. 5th alarm + 3 engines and 2 ladders Box 2-3233 (St. Jean de Dieu Hospital); 7401 Hochelaga Street; utilities building at Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine Psychiatric Hospital.
Montreal, July 13th, 1977. 5th alarm + 23 engines (total of 36) Box 2-3233 (St. Jean de Dieu Hospital); 7401 Hochelaga Street; patient pavilions at Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine Psychiatric Hospital.
There was a request for some old vehicle photos. There are some very good vehicle shots in this installment. The rest of the photos are at [url="http://www.firebuff.org/stronach.htm"]FROM THE STRONACH PHOTO FILES[/url]
GREAT stuff Mark!!! For whatever reason I didn't know that Montreal ran tillers, I know there were some on the island but not Montreal itself, like your antique Seagrave (which btw the photo I took of it after the muster in Laval back a few years ago was in a recent issue of Fire Apparatus Journal FINALLY)
Great stuff again, thanks for posting! Mark, do you think the union will ever drop the protest and start washing the trucks? It's been what, 3 years now? I haven't been able to get a decent photo of almost any of the new stuff in a long time.
Sorry for the long time between postings but with Ian away and me being tied up it's been a while. Two fires to post this time:
Montreal, December 24[sup]th[/sup] , 1971. 2[sup]nd[/sup] alarm, Box 3-1281 (Notre Dame & Dominion); 2350 Notre Dame Street West, Lido Theatre. This is not a spectacular fire but for apparatus buffs, with the 1954 Seagrave 75[sup]th[/sup] Anniversary pumper, the Fargo hose wagon and the 1956 GMC tractor on the Seagrave aerial, the photos could have been taken in the mid-1950’s. These were my first slides of a Montreal fire some 40 years ago.
Montreal, May 15[sup]th[/sup], 1981. 5[sup]th[/sup] alarm, Box 3-1156 (des Recollets & Ste. Helene); 444-446 St. Pierre Street, 7 storey commercial; three firefighters killed in building collapse. Two of the firefighters who died were buried under the pile of rubble next to the “No Parking” sign in the right of the first photo the morning after. I had been standing 10 feet away from them and worked on their extrication and transport to hospital.
The rest of the photos can be found at [url="http://www.firebuff.org/stronach.htm"]http://www.firebuff.org/stronach.htm[/url]
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