[quote name='GA_Dave' date='02 January 2010 - 01:05 PM' timestamp='1262454304' post='355770']
Nope, no rides. I don't believe that there's anything special about the truck, I've seen many others like it. I would think that the promotion was more about where it was delivered to, not the truck itself.
I looked at Warm Springs' ladder truck. It's really in sad shape and should be replaced.
[/quote]
True that there's nothing special about it except that I believe it was the first brand new apparatus they ever had. One of my best friends, an exempt and former longtime captain of my company in Butler NJ semi retired to that area 20 years ago, so became active in 3 volunteer stations that were barely operating.
About 1998, I had the chance to attend a meeting of Warm Springs FD, something that had to be conducted in the parking lot tailgate style because there was no room inside the old combination town hall/police station/firehouse. They acqquired the 1972 ALF open cab 85 footer from Pompton Lakes NJ, one of my neighboring FD's, basically for ISO reasons as the closest aerial of any kind then was the City of Columbus about 30 miles south. The next meeting I attended was just after that E One had been delivered. It's not a wealthy region with much of what the FD's in that area achieved was largely thanks to funding from higher level government sources. BTW, Warm Springs got the aerial for only a couple thousand dollars including certain surplus equipment that came with it.
Something about that meeting in Warm Springs' present firehouse, a very nice building. Thanks to help from local stores, we were able to sit on comfy living room and dining room furniture. At the end of business, a conversation developed with guys talking about the biggest fires they had been to. My friend said "Richie tell them about our biggest" so I proceeded to describe the one when I was just about 5 years old in 1957 that destroyed what was then the world's largest rubber reclaiming (recycling) plant measuring 800 feet by 400 feet by up to 5 stories mill construction of heavy timber and brick constructed between 1900 and 1935. That blaze was the largest fire insurance loss in North America for that year with response by 55 fire departments on the first night and day then in shifts for the following week with another 45 or so fire departments providing back up. It was covered by 5 minutes of the 15 minute NY City nightly tv news and got mention on the 15 minute national nightly tv news by all 3 networks.
An older man just sat there and smiled as I described that fire. When I finished he said "Rich, believe it or not I was involved in that fire for 3 days but only got to see the glow in the sky that first night and the smoke for the other days." I asked what he meant and he pointed to the aerial still lettered for Pompton Lakes. Seems he had been a member of the Wyckoff FD of Bergen County NJ which provided coverage for Pompton Lakes while they were at the fire.
Nope, no rides. I don't believe that there's anything special about the truck, I've seen many others like it. I would think that the promotion was more about where it was delivered to, not the truck itself.
I looked at Warm Springs' ladder truck. It's really in sad shape and should be replaced.
[/quote]
True that there's nothing special about it except that I believe it was the first brand new apparatus they ever had. One of my best friends, an exempt and former longtime captain of my company in Butler NJ semi retired to that area 20 years ago, so became active in 3 volunteer stations that were barely operating.
About 1998, I had the chance to attend a meeting of Warm Springs FD, something that had to be conducted in the parking lot tailgate style because there was no room inside the old combination town hall/police station/firehouse. They acqquired the 1972 ALF open cab 85 footer from Pompton Lakes NJ, one of my neighboring FD's, basically for ISO reasons as the closest aerial of any kind then was the City of Columbus about 30 miles south. The next meeting I attended was just after that E One had been delivered. It's not a wealthy region with much of what the FD's in that area achieved was largely thanks to funding from higher level government sources. BTW, Warm Springs got the aerial for only a couple thousand dollars including certain surplus equipment that came with it.
Something about that meeting in Warm Springs' present firehouse, a very nice building. Thanks to help from local stores, we were able to sit on comfy living room and dining room furniture. At the end of business, a conversation developed with guys talking about the biggest fires they had been to. My friend said "Richie tell them about our biggest" so I proceeded to describe the one when I was just about 5 years old in 1957 that destroyed what was then the world's largest rubber reclaiming (recycling) plant measuring 800 feet by 400 feet by up to 5 stories mill construction of heavy timber and brick constructed between 1900 and 1935. That blaze was the largest fire insurance loss in North America for that year with response by 55 fire departments on the first night and day then in shifts for the following week with another 45 or so fire departments providing back up. It was covered by 5 minutes of the 15 minute NY City nightly tv news and got mention on the 15 minute national nightly tv news by all 3 networks.
An older man just sat there and smiled as I described that fire. When I finished he said "Rich, believe it or not I was involved in that fire for 3 days but only got to see the glow in the sky that first night and the smoke for the other days." I asked what he meant and he pointed to the aerial still lettered for Pompton Lakes. Seems he had been a member of the Wyckoff FD of Bergen County NJ which provided coverage for Pompton Lakes while they were at the fire.
Rich Dean, Butler, New Jersey, USA
Member of Kinney Hose Co. 1, Butler Fire Dept. since 1973, Fire Police Officer since 2000
Dispatcher at Butler Police Communications from March 1975 to July 2009
Secretary of North Jersey Volunteer Firemen's Association since 1980
Member of Tri-Boro First Aid Squad (volunteer ems) since 2000 as a driver
Member of many Yahoogroups, owner of some such as:
[post="0"]FirematicEvents Yahoogroup[/post]the place to for listing and discussion of any event by a public safety organization.
[post="0"]RailfanEvents Yahoogroup[/post]
[post="0"]Railpics Yahoogroup[/post]
Member of Kinney Hose Co. 1, Butler Fire Dept. since 1973, Fire Police Officer since 2000
Dispatcher at Butler Police Communications from March 1975 to July 2009
Secretary of North Jersey Volunteer Firemen's Association since 1980
Member of Tri-Boro First Aid Squad (volunteer ems) since 2000 as a driver
Member of many Yahoogroups, owner of some such as:
[post="0"]FirematicEvents Yahoogroup[/post]the place to for listing and discussion of any event by a public safety organization.
[post="0"]RailfanEvents Yahoogroup[/post]
[post="0"]Railpics Yahoogroup[/post]
Facebook
Google
Reddit
Twitter