Interesting setup on "The First Snorkel"

[Pimp]

Interesting story behind this truck but also interesting Beacon Ray arrangement. I also spy a Q and an 888. Not much in the way of red warning lights. 

Wonder if the BR was a "hill light", would that one bulb be about right for warning in that position?  :undecided:  

Read the story here: http://bit.ly/UEp3tY

 

[Maxim2Eng]

http://http://desplainesvalleynews.com/bedford-park-might-scrap-piece-of-firefighting-history-p1244-90.htm


Ah yes. Much simpler times used simpler warning techniques. Great article. Wish I had some spare change to restore it.


In 1965, Louisville Fire Dept put Snorkel 2 (Truck 2) in service at the station on E. Jefferson St. (Batt. 2 H.Q.). My mentor, saint and barber, Capt. Murphy, along with several other LFD's bravest taught me all I needed to survive as a firefighter and as a person. "Smackle 2" was still in service 20 years later.

 

[stansdds]

It would be a shame to see this old apparatus scrapped, I hope that someone will come to its rescue.

That is an interesting mounting for a Beacon Ray... or any beacon!

 

[ful-vue]

Back in the day, when I built my AMT ALF Aero Chief plastic model kit, I added a beacon mounted like that. I'm not sure where I got the inspiration - maybe Philly mounted them like that too.

 

[Jarred J.]

command light when the snorkel was up?

 

[ful-vue]

command light when the snorkel was up?

I'm pretty sure I did my model that way because I saw a real-life example, and it was running with the rest of the warning lights.

 

[stansdds]

Since the snorkel boom extends so far beyond the vehicle chassis, I expect the idea was to put a warning light out there so people would see the boom.  I'm just not sure how effective it was given the angle of the light.  Looks like it could have been distracting to the driver.

 

[Skip Goulet]

Very interesting package for such a small setup.

In the late 60s the Lubbock Fire Dept put its first Snorkel into service.  And that truck became a real life-saver.....literally.

On May 11, 1970, Lubbock was hit with a nasty F5 tornado.  It first touched down near downtown, lifted and then touched down again in the north central area in a very affluent part of town.   While there were several hundred injuries, there were "only" 26 fatalities.   Those aren't bad numbers for a city of close to 170,000 at the time.

When the tornado first touched down it hit the central fire station. The dispatch center was all-glass and it took the first hit. The dispatcher was hit by flying glass and taken out of action. Thus, the tornado sirens were never sounded.

When the building began to shake the batt. chief and his crews dove under the Snorkel just as the roof of the engine room collapsed! The big Snorkel was able to support the weight of the roof, although the truck sustained extensive damage.  But none of the firemen were hurt.  The only casualty being the dispatcher who lost an eye from the flying glass.

Within 30 minutes of touchdown my REACT team was mobilized and I found myself in the front seat of a borrowed ambulance and remained in that ambulance from Monday night until the following Thursday morning when it was decided that everyone was accounted for.  The only "perk" from the whole experience was that my partner and I made it on all three TV networks the morning after the storm.  We were sent out to the Lubbock Municipal Airport (now Lubbock International) where a military transport had landed with a load of whole blood.    We responded in the borrowed ambulance to load the blood to take to the Lubbock Coliseum which had been setup as a refugee center.  While we were loading, three cameramen from the three networks showed up and filmed us as we loaded the ambulance.

As to the Snorkel, it sustained considerable damage and was out of service for several months.   But it did it's job in saving the lives of the firemen and their batt. chief.  A plaque remembering the "valor" of the Snorkel hangs in the current Central Station today.