St. Louis Metro

[Guest]

[quote name='cvame2202' date='29 March 2010 - 12:24 PM' timestamp='1269882293' post='373075']

Here's the ex-Gardenville apparatus that Affton kept after the merger.

Pumper 33 (ex-72)

Rescue 3 (ex-Rescue 7) sitting where Affton 3 House now stands.

Car 306 (ex-Car 706 ex-Mehlville Amb)

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That Affton Ford C pumper was the first fire truck that I ever drove. Going back to the summer of 1984, I remember that I was a little nervous when I was told I'd be learning how to drive and pump that rig, because the biggest vehicle I'd ever driven at that time was my 4 door 1973 Chevrolet Impala! In hindsight that pumper was so easy to drive, with its short wheelbase. Today I drive a Pierce Dash pumper that's about twice as long as that Ford C!



The ambulance, 306, which was staffed by EMT's or Advanced First-Aid personnel, used to be dispatched to assist 305 on full arrests instead of a pumper(if 306 was staffed, which most of the time it was), or it would be dispatched by the crew of 305 (which was ALS) after they (305) arrived on scene and assessed the patient and deemed that the call/patient was BLS. 306 would also be dispatched if 305 was out on another call.



Back then, the districts/departments dispatched by South County Fire Alarm didn't run their ambulances on mutual aid to eachother like they do now. St. Louis County Ambulance, which was ALS, would run into Affton and Lemay when their ambulances were out on other calls.



306 was only in service maybe a year or so before being placed out of service and running strictly as a reserve ambulance, before Affton purchased a second Braun ambulance to replace 305. By then, County Ambulance would fill-in for 305 it was out.



Rescue 3 would get dispatched with 33 on EMS calls, if it was staffed, after we stopped running 306. Sometimes if we had a full house at 3's, we could have up to 6-8 people or more on an EMS call, just with 33 and Rescue 3, plus the 2 medics from 305 or County Ambulance. It also ran still alarms and 1st Alarms, again, if it was staffed. It also had a 5 bottle cascade system on it.