Philadelphia, PA

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[quote name='Fireman5230' post='51928' date='Nov 18 2006, 20:44 ']In 1991 Philly re-established RESCUE 1 after 3 firefighters died in the Meridian Bank High Rise Fire. Starting the company up the City went out for donations to help fund the start of the new unit. Coca-Cola donated a delivery truck. Also to help cut the costs upfront, PFD used an old American LaFrance engine and gutted the pump and added compartments. These two rigs began RESCUE 1 and 101. It was a 2 piece Company responding to all calls with the crew divided between the two trucks.



The main Rescue was the old Soda Truck.





The Engine was a collapse truck and carried the bulky equipment.

[/quote]

I can't help but wonder how Philadelphia had gotten by for at least 28 years without a Heavy Rescue Company?I know that until 1961 they had 4 Heavy Rescue Company's and in 1963 the last 2 were taken out of service.Philly must have had a need for at some least some Special Operations and Associated equippment for those years after all most of the 1960's and the 1970's were called the "War Years" due to Heavy Fire Duty and in most places Heavy Rescues would assist at Fires as well as Rescues.

Chicago had phased out our (at one time 13 conventional Squad company's)by late 1968,however we had introduced our Snorkel Squad company's in the 1960's (which became our Special Operations Units) and we always had at least one of them in service throughout the late 60's and 70's despite our manpower and fire company reductions.

As a point of information our Snorkel companys were different from our Snorkel Squads.The Snorkels were used strickly for elevating streams and rescues in which the boom was used while our Snorkel Squads were two piece Fire/Heavy Rescue company's that ran with a Small Snorkel (40 to 50 feet at the time) on the first piece and a small High Pressure Fog Booster pumper as the second piece they were equipped with lot's of power tools and "Special Operations" equipment. <img src='http://www.firepics.net/groupboards/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/drrescue.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> <img src='http://www.firepics.net/groupboards/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/devil.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> <img src='http://www.firepics.net/groupboards/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/devil.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> <img src='http://www.firepics.net/groupboards/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/devil.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />