Old fire apparatus had class!

By today's standards, this 1973 Mack/Baker Aerialscope looks kind of plain and utilitarian, but I've always like them for just that reason . . .they are work horses! This particular rig - "Yellow 11" - is part of the Atlanta Fire & Rescue Department's fleet and still protects Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm a fan of our modern day apparatus, but there was (and still is) something about those "old" apparatus slogging away on the fireground. I don't know how many times I've seen East Point's 1970ish Ford/Pirsch engines (pictured at left) still sitting on a fire scene going strong after an all-night battle with the "Red Devil" (fire). The hood would probably be up to give the big motor some extra fresh, cool air and the lights had probably been shutoff but it was still there doing what it does best! Then, when the job was done, it would rumble back to life and return its crew to their quarters.

Of course the title of workhorse wasn't limited to just the engines and trucks . . .starting back as early as the mid sixities many departments had begun to operate "first aid squads" -- a precursor to today's modern Emergency Medical Service (EMS). Like it's counterpart across the bay in the firehouse, these units weren't afraid of a little hard work. I think one of my favorites was this one from Baltimore, Maryland which, incidentally was in service with that department when I was born in 1963. And, make no mistake, when they started to get some age that didn't mean their fire service career was over. They would be rehabbed - either by the original manufacturer or by the department shops - and begin a second life as an air unit (to refill self-contained breating apparatus (SCBA) on the fire ground) or some other job for a workhorse with a proven track record of service!

To see some of these units in action: Fire & EMS operations (Flicker group)

Until next time . . .

Watch out for emergency vehicles

Engine 30 sustained damage on the drivers side when it collided with a passing vehicle on the Downtown Connector.

(John Spink, jspink@ajc.com)

The incident happened just before 5:30 a.m. on I-75/85 southbound past Langford Parkway. Fire crews responded to a reported car fire, but discovered on arrival that there was a disabled vehicle, but no fire, Atlanta fire Battalion Chief Paul Cuprowski told the AJC.

Cuprowski said the engine remained on the scene to block traffic for the stranded motorist. The driver was sitting in the fire engine when another motorist struck the left front of the engine, Cuprowski said. He said the firefighter sustained a side injury and possibly a head injury, and was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment. His injuries were not believed to be serious. The motorist that hit the fire engine was not injured. Cuprowski said that incidents where emergency vehicles are struck by other motorists are “unfortunately not uncommon.”

Other drivers sometimes “get tunnel vision and get drawn into the lights,” he said. The chief had advice for motorists when they approach emergency vehicles stopped along the highway. “A lot of this evolves from rubber-necking,” he said. “The best thing you can do is move over as far as you can and keep your eyes on the road, and not on the incident.”

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This incident stresses the need for the driving public to use extreme caution when driving in the vicinity of a medical emergency, fire, or other incident that has occurred either in the roadway or in the emergency lane. Here are some tips that, hopefully, will keep you and the responders out of harm's way:

Be wary of developing tunnel vision. This is especially true at night when driver's are "hypnotized" and get drawn into the lights of an emergency vehicle.If you see lights flashing, go ahead and move over one (1) lane (normally to the left) before you get too close to the scene.

Be alert for emergency personnel and/or other drivers. Although emergency personnel make every effort to "box in" a highway emergencies - meaning they surround it with their vehicles - however emergency personnel might still be in the lane(s) where traffic is still moving.

Stay off your cellphone when driving near a roadside emergency. Cellphone usage is dangerous when driving but becomes potentially deadly when there is a roadside emergency. The combination of personnel - or civilians - in the roadway along with emergency vehicles demands your full attention and you can't devote that if you're talking on the cellphone.

Don't rubber-neck! Battalion Chief Cuprowski summed it up best: "The best thing you can do is move over as far as you can and keep your eyes on the road, and not the incident".

Until next time . . .

Starting over: confessions of a scale model builder

First of all, the image above is not a model, it's an actual American-LaFrance Aero Chief snorkel that served Baltimore, MD. You might ask what it has to do with constructing a model -- simple . . . it serves as my inspiration to start an old hobby back. You see, I started buidling models when I was about nine or ten (10) years-old, but I kind of laid it aside when I started working and moved out on my own and am just now getting back into it.  And, you guessed it, an Aero Chief is the first project I'm going to tackle. You might ask why I just a truck with such a "basic" color scheme to re-start my hobby. The answer to that is that I'm not sure how steady my hand will be after almost twenty (20) years away from the hobby. But, we will see . . .

Until next time --

Walter