Ed. Note: Special thanks to Chief (Ret.) Rick Lasky for arranging to have the Seagrave stop at the Westin in Indianapolis, Indiana, so Rick Abers could share this 1966 tractor-drawn aerial with attendees and FDIC International staffers.
By Ron Heal
On the Wednesday of FDIC International week in Indianapolis, Indiana, I joined fellow members of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board for a noon meeting. Editor Chris McLoone and FDIC International Conference Director Diane Rothschild greeted me with, “You should have been here yesterday.” They went on to explain that they had a good lead for a feature on “old stuff” for our electronic issue. OK, so what did I miss? That is when I learned that both Diane and Chris had been touring around downtown Indianapolis on a 1966 Seagrave 100-foot tractor-drawn aerial (TDA).
FDIC International brings very long and busy days for Diane and Chris. On that Tuesday, Chris found out about a classic 1966 Seagrave TDA, ex Louisville (KY) Fire Department being in town. He had an opportunity to hop on for a ride around downtown Indianapolis. He extended an invitation to Diane and to FDIC Conference Manager Ginger Mendolia to ride along. It took a follow-up call to convince Diane and Ginger to take advantage of a ride. Diane said that words cannot describe the sight of that beautiful and stately rig pulling up at the Indianapolis Westin Hotel with people hanging on the rig. She and Ginger could not wait to climb on board! Diane felt the best seat on the rig was right behind the tractor cab, standing up, the wind rushing past, reinvigorating her from the exhaustion of long days of working the FDIC event. Their ride took them past the Convention Center, past Lucas Oil Stadium, past restaurants and bars filled with FDIC attendees with pipers playing outside some of the popular bars, and back to the Westin. All Diane could do was shout “AGAIN!” And, they did!
Diane, being a civilian, has never pretended to be a firefighter. She respects the profession and knows that many of the tasks taken on by firefighters and rescue personnel are things she could never do. Riding around the streets of downtown Indianapolis on a vintage fire truck, giving the royal wave to passersby, and experiencing a highlight of her week is totally something that Diane could see herself doing.
I appreciate that both Diane and Chris were enthusiastic to share their interesting news—even if I was a day late. They even made some phone calls to find out if the Seagrave was still in town for a few more days. While that was not the case, I did get a name and contact for the apparatus owner. Rick Albers is the proud owner of the beautiful piece of vintage fire apparatus. Albers’s story is long, so I will share it in two issues.
Albers’s fire service story goes back to the 1960s. In his early years, Albers lived in the Louisville suburb of St. Matthews. The suburb had a volunteer fire department. As a kid, Albers would hear the fire siren go off. He would hop on his bike and pedal to the firehouse to check the location of the fire on the chalk board. Then he was off on his bike to get to the location. How many of us have had a similar experience? Albers joined the volunteer department just as soon as he had his driver’s license. In 1977 he joined the Louisville Fire Department. He was also active with his volunteer department. In 1984, Albers became the first paid part time fire chief of the Anchorage (KY) Fire Department. Albers remained with the Louisville Fire Depart