Syracuse FD Rescue & More . . .

[fyreline]

The story of the Syracuse Fire Department Rescue Company started in 1933, with a 1925 Obenchain-Boyer engine (#37706) that had been one of the three apparatus acquired when the City of Syracuse annexed the Village of Eastwood on its eastern border. The unit served briefly as SFD Engine 17, then as Engine 15 until August, 1930. As Chief Edward Geiselman saw the need for a supplementary company to assist the SFD’s engines and trucks, he saw that other cities were beginning to utilize “flying squads” for additional manpower, or, as the FDNY had done since 1915, organized specially-equipped “rescue companies”.  Chief Geiselman decided that this was the way to go, and the former Eastwood engine was converted by the department’s own shops into a Light & Squad Truck. This unit was equipped with a separate Kohler 4-cylinder engine driving a 2.0 kW 110-volt DC generator. The rig carried two gas masks, an oxygen mask, an inhalator, salvage covers, two 750-watt spotlights, four 250-watt portable spotlights, and over 1100 feet of electrical cord. The new Light Squad Company, manned by 3 to 4 men per shift, was placed in service on December 1, 1933 and quickly proved itself responding to major alarms and emergencies.  

 

 



 

By 1940 It  became apparent, however, that the open- cab unit was extremely underpowered – the Federal chassis produced only 33 horsepower (about the same as an early Volkswagen). It was decided that a larger, more powerful apparatus was required – and one with more compartment space for the ever-increasing complement of equipment that the company was beginning to carry. Unfortunately, war was on the horizon and new apparatus exceedingly hard to come by. In spite of these obstacles, in October of 1941 a new Light Squad truck was delivered, built on a 1941 Chevrolet AJ 4-door 185” WB chassis (#5632) , with a fully-enclosed rear body built by the local Salina Body Works. Costing $4,234, it featured a 129 HP motor, and a 5 kW generator. In addition, a full complement of spotlights, electrical cable, torches and salvage equipment were carried in the rig’s multiple compartments.

 



 



 

This modern unit gave exceptional service throughout the trying war years, and as the immediate post-war world moved forward, it reached the point where the amount of equipment this rig was carrying started to exceed its safe capacity . . . plus, the mission of the company itself had evolved as well. It was time to move away from the "Light and Squad" concept, and fully embrace the idea of a dedicated, specialized Rescue Company.

[fyreline]

As the 1950s dawned, Syracuse’s Chief William Connelly was developing some definite ideas about what a true SFD Rescue Company might look like. Again (and no surprise), a larger vehicle would be required to support all the equipment that might be required. Some of the nation’s largest cities – New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, etc. – had found success in using large, van-style walk-in rescues from manufacturers such as Gerstenslager and Approved Fire Equipment located in Rockville Center, NY.  It was decided to model the new SFD rescue vehicle after these units. Accordingly, A Senior Model Rescue was ordered from AFE, to be built on a 1951 GMC Model HC-754 chassis (#BC745254). The wheelbase stretched to 201 inches, and air brakes were a first for SFD apparatus. A total of 22 compartments were provided, along with a larger 10kW generator. The cost for his new unit came to $27,750 and it arrived in the city on July 28, 1952. Once the new vehicle was n town, training commenced for the new crews put together to man it. Finally, on August 20, 1952, Rescue Company 1 went into service. 

 



 

The new company proved to be very busy, and by the mid-1960s the wear and tear was beginning to show on the vehicle. Plans were already being developed for a replacement.

 



 

Before the new rig could be delivered, on July 14, 1965 Rescue 1 was involved in a collision with a Greyhound bus on Montgomery & Taylor Streets while responding to an alarm. The front end damage was considerable, but repairable . . . and the old 1941 Light Squad unit was pressed back into service in the interim. 

 

[fyreline]

The next Syracuse rescue would be from Seagrave, with a huge walk-in body from Welch in Marion, Wisconsin. The order was placed on June 23, 1965 and the price tag was $38,475,  The unit utilized the Seagrave 800-B chassis with a 325-HP Waukesha gasoline engine.There was a 7000-lb. front PTO winch, a 10kW direct-drive generator, and ten large compartments. There were all manner of jacks, saws, torches, salvage equipment and tools carried. Serial # was Q-4066.

 



 

Dedicated at City Hall on February 16, 1966, the new rescue was soon modified by the SFD Shops with an A-frame to use with the front winch.

 



 

This rig stayed in busy front-line service for many years.  When the next Syracuse rescue was delivered in 1977, the Seagrave went into the SFD shops for some much-needed bodywork and refreshing, and a new paint job in the Safety Yellow paint scheme adopted by the Syracuse FD in the early 1970s. It served as a reserve piece until 1986, when it finally went to auction.

 

[nealcraig]

I love all the history one can learn here!!!!

[fyreline]

The next Syracuse Rescue was a heavy-duty looking brute indeed .  Constructed by Saulsbury on an International Paystar 5070 4WD chassis, it had a walk-through body, a 17kW direct-drive generator, and a 20,000-lb. front winch with a detachable A-frame. Here are some pages from Saulsbury’s brochure, which featured the new Syracuse rig:

 



 

[fyreline]

This unit served long and well, and answered many thousands of alarms. Serial number was #1219, price tag was $100,426.

 



 

By 1986 it was getting a little tired, and more capacity was once again required than its 18-foot body and single-axle chassis could provide. Yet another new rescue vehicle was in the works, and when it was delivered the 1977 unit was rebuilt by the shops as a spare. Extensive rear bodywork was done, including new squared-off rear fenders.

 



 

The next SFD Rescue appeared in 1986, and represented a “super-sized” version of the 1977 unit. Also built on an International Paystar 5070 chassis, with a 23-foot stainless steel body on a tandem-axle chassis. The same 17kW generator and 20,000-lb. front winch with detachable A-frame were specified. It carried serial # 2456 and a price tag of $238,884. 

 



Considered by many veteran Syracuse Rescue personnel to be the best rig they ever had, the strength and integrity of this unit was sorely tested ten years later in 1996 when it was involved in an accident on James Street while enroute to an alarm. The rig turned over on its side and slid into a huge tree – but fortunately the body withstood the impacts, and riding personnel received only minor injuries. The rig was righted, started up, and driven to the Division of Maintenance. It ended up being judged a total loss, and another new rescue apparatus started to take shape on the drawing board. The former 1977 single-axle unit was pressed back into service. It was fortunate that the SFD Shops had refurbished the older unit, and also that back in 1982 the SFD had taken the opportunity to purchase an inexpensive backup unit from a local volunteer department.

[fyreline]

The backup unit purchased in January 1982 was acquired from the local Dewitt Fire Department, which had recently decided to replace its old rescue truck, a 1970 van-style unit on a Ford chassis with bodywork by Lyncoach of Oneonta, NY.  The SFD Shops were once again put to work, retrofitting the unit with the shelves and brackets it would require to serve as Rescue 1 if and when needed. Here is the unit as purchased from Dewitt:

 

  . . .

 

 

And here is the same vehicle as refurbished by the SFD Shops. It was only called upon when Rescue 1's rig was down for service, and it certainly wasn't fancy . . . but it served the purpose in a cost-effective fashion for a number of years, ending up assigned to the HazMat company when the newly-delivered 1997 E\-One rescue relegated the 1977 Saulsbury rig back to reserve status. The Lyncoach apparatus was finally disposed of in the late 1990's, having served its purpose. It was not missed that much - SFD personnel who drove it had little praise for its road manners. Probably the most telling comment was that "It cornered like a rhinocerous on a wet clay bank."

[ACPD227]

More you cant leave us hanging with a wreck and a totaled rig. Whats next the E\-One? 

[fyreline]

I thought you were going to make us buy the book?  LOL
 

 

Oh, there's a LOT more information and photos in the book beyond anything I've posted on any of the Syracuse threads here - and I still have about 3/4 of a case available.  I did have a few friends tell me that I shouldn't post so much information on the internet for free when I have a book to sell . . . but I don't agree, and I don't need the money THAT bad . . . . yet.

[ACPD227]

Id buy the book but I already bought one from you years ago. Any chance on an addendum. 

[fyreline]

The next Syracuse Rescue really pushed the envelope on size . . . at the time of its construction, it was the largest rescue E\-One had ever built. Built on the Ocala, Florida manufacturer’s Cyclone II chassis with a 25-foot extruded aluminum body, it ended up being over 40 feet long.  It carried  E\-One serial #17664 and a price tag of $396,239.

 



 

 

 Its size provided more than enough room for all the tools and equipment that a city heavy rescue carries – but unfortunately that extreme size made it somewhat difficult to maneuver on narrow and high-crowned city side streets, and a series of structural cracks started to develop. The unit went back to the Florida factory more than once for repairs, returning from one of them with a complete repaint to the SFD’s new dark red paint scheme.

 

[fyreline]

Id buy the book but I already bought one from you years ago. Any chance on an addendum. 

 

I appreciate the business, hope you have enjoyed the book. It's only been three years since I retired, and the book was current up to 2011.  Not really enough time there yet for an addendum. Maybe in another 5 years or so I will self-publish an update covering the years 2012-2022 - if I'm still around to do it, and there's still any interest in it.

[fyreline]

The huge E\-One rescue proved to be somewhat problematic in service – it was just too damned big, and the structural problems continued for years. It eventually ended up somewhat like a collapsing building, reaching a secondary point of stability where pretty much everything that could break had, in fact, broken – and been repaired. Syracuse FD Maintenance personnel said it had been to Florida "More than Walt Freakin' Disney."  It was decided in 2004 to go with a slightly more compact unit, and the bid for the vehicle was awarded to American LaFrance. Syracuse had a series of ALF TeleSqurt engines on their Eagle chassis giving good service at the time, and the parent company had not yet fallen into the depths of disorganization and failure that would plague it in years to follow. Utilizing a stainless steel  22-foot body with a partial walk-in section from the cab, a 4-reel Amkus Ultimate hydraulic rescue tool system was included along with a 30kW hydraulic generator and a 12,000-lb. front winch. The unit carried ALF serial # M-85642 and a price tag of $484,000. It is pictured here as it was about to enter the 1994 FDIC for display on the American LaFrance stand. Maybe I saw some of you there.

 



 

[fyreline]

By 2012, it was again time to consider another new heavy rescue for the SFD. This was a bit sooner than would be normal, but the Americn LaFrance Eagle had proven to be less than 100% reliable. We have always had a great working relationship with the Sutphen corporation, so we were quite pleased when they agreed to build us a heavy rescue as an add-on to the similar HazMat-Command vehicle they had recently completed for us. This represented a significant cost and time savings that it would have been a shame to pass up. A return to a full walk-through design was included, along with a return to conventional compartment doors as the roll-ups were never totally satisfactory. The new Sutphen rescue featured stainless steel bodywork by SVI in Colorado, and the newly completed unit is pictured here as I was giving it a shakedown cruise on twisty Colorado mountain roads. The Sutphen serial number is HS-5080 and the price tag for this unit was $751, 391. Equipment was otherwise similar to the ALF unit that preceded it.

 



 



 

. . . And that gets us pretty much up to date. Hope you have enjoyed this particular trip through Syracuse Fire Department history as much as I have enjoyed bringing it to you. Stay safe out there . . . . 

 

[rescue2]

Outstanding history lesson.....Thanks Chief!

[fyreline]

A bit of a post-script . . . I have had a few private messages basically asking me, "Whatever happened to this apparatus? Where did it end up after the SFD disposed of it?"  The truest answer is that in many cases, I just don't know. Once we send them to auction, we generally lose track of them pretty quickly. In these days of big apparatus brokers, that is especially true - they could literally end up anywhere, even out of the country. I do, however, have a few "parting shots" of four of our previous rescues. I have included them below, for whatever interest there may be:

 

First, the 1941 COE Chevrolet "Light Squad" - This vehicle was in reserve status and quartered at Station 6 when I was about 7 or 8 years old, and my dad was driving E6. This would have been about 1961 or so. I remember playing on it as a kid when I would stop in downtown to see my dad (Yes, a kid that age was safe travelling downtown on the bus back then). Years later, when I first came on the job in 1973, it was sitting behind the Division of Maintenance, having been cut down to a flatbed for use as a utility truck in the yard. It was auctioned the next year, and I don't know where it went. It still ran, and I actually drove it a few times.

 



 

The next vehicle is the 1977 International Paystar/ Saulsbury. It is pictured here in a broker's yard after we had disposed of it at auction in the early 1990's. It certainly is sad to see this noble beast in such a state. Sic Transit Gloria Mundi. 

 



 

And here we have the 1986 International/Saulsbury tandem that replaced it, and so heroically protected its crew in the rollover accident that spelled the end of its SFD career.  I agree with all of you who will say that it doesn't look that bad, and wonder whether it could have been fixed?  Trust me, the damage was more profound than it looks - absolutely everything on the vehicle had been "tweaked" just enough to require a complete rebuild of the body and frame. Also, a new rescue was already "in the pipeline", so it made little sense to spend a lot of money on the old one. It was still driveable, and the individual who purchased it at auction removed the damaged rescue body and made a 10-wheel dump truck out of it. I used to see it around on the roads south of the city for a while, but not in a long time now, so i suppose it's gone for good at this point.

 



 

And finally, the 1997 E\-One that gave us so much trouble over the years. It finally did go to auction, and at one point was up in Canada looking for a buyer. Here's a "for sale" picture of it long after it left us. Again, no idea where it is now.

 

[fyreline]

And here's a parting shot I couldn't resist - a photograph of three Syracuse Rescue 1 vehicles all together. From left to right, the 2004 American LaFrance Eagle, the 2012 Sutphen/SVI, and the 1997 E\-One. Perspective can be deceiving, as the ALF looks huge and it is actually the smallest of the three, while the E\-One on the far right looks positively compact, and is in fact the largest of the three. The E\-One was disposed of not too long after this shot was taken, but while I had them briefly all at the Division of Maintenance at the same time , I couldn't resist putting them all in the yard at the Fire Academy and taking some pictures. After all, it would never happen again!

 

[Image7801]

And here's a parting shot I couldn't resist - a photograph of three Syracuse Rescue 1 vehicles all together. From left to right, the 2004 American LaFrance Eagle, the 2012 Sutphen/SVI, and the 1997 E-One. Perspective can be deceiving, as the ALF looks huge and it is actually the smallest of the three, while the E-One on the far right looks positively compact, and is in fact the largest of the three. The E-One was disposed of not too long after this shot was taken, but while I had them briefly all at the Division of Maintenance at the same time , I couldn't resist putting them all in the yard at the Fire Academy and taking some pictures. After all, it would never happen again!

 
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Great stuff, Chief! I love hearing the chronology and seeing the photos in order... Ya know, a little history on Syracuse's other rescue rigs (the rescue aerial, etc...) would complement this thread nicely!

[npfd801]

I can't help but be astounded by the inflation in rig pricing...  1997 - $396,000    2004 - $484,000     2012 - $751,000

 

Only an $88,000 increase over 7 years, then a $267,000 increase over 8.  Maybe I'm just getting old, but at this rate none of us will be able to afford rigs.  I know that specs and such can play a part in the overall cost of the various rigs, but I'd like to think they're somewhat comparable.

 

Edit:  Just read the comments on the tower ladder thread regarding costs... didn't mean to rehash.

[firesafe91]

Why do Rescue Company members wear white helmets?