Telesquirts (Telesqurt)

[fyreline]

Chief...is that a bell located on the A-frame boom support just above the first crossly?

 

 

Yes, but not in the traditional "fire bell" sense. It was part of the Automated Engine equipment - at that time, Syracuse engines were all outfitted with automatic governors and radio-controlled crosslays. The red alarm bell would ring under certain circumstances to alert the pump operator that a particular action was taking place - such as the "Emergency Alarm" button being activated on the crosslay handset. The Automated Engine idea did work, but was extremely expensive to engineer, install and maintain.  Eventually it was eliminated, except for the automatic governor feature which was retained.