Montreal Fire Department 1970's

[Ian Stronach]

The Montreal Thibault rear-mounts had a bed ladder pipe with a straight tip, hence the roll of hose on the bed section near the turntable.  The ladder pipe is barely visible under the tip of the bed section.  I have fireground shots of these ladders operating with both the bed ladder pipe and one on the last fly section tip at near full extension - certainly a testament to how rugged their ladders were.  There will always be anecdotal stories both good and bad about Thibault's quality but they saw some incredible fireground service in Montreal in the 1970's and early 1980's and stood up very well to the test.  The other advantage of these ladders was their short wheel base and turning radius (pretty much like a pump) which made them very maneuverable in Montreal's narrow streets and lanes.

 

Ladder 405 - 1975 Thibault 100 ft.