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Posted: Apr 17, 2016

S.F. Fire Department Turns 150 on Fateful Date of '06 Quake

The San Francisco Fire Department begins a months-long celebration of its 150th anniversary Monday. Just after 5 in the morning - the moment the huge quake struck in 1906 - 100 or so people will gather at Lotta's Fountain at Market and Kearny streets in a commemoration that has become a city tradition.

Not long after that, a smaller group will show up at 20th and Church streets to spray a coat of gold paint on a hydrant that prevented the spread of the big fire and saved the Mission District.

And at 9, the Fire Department will celebrate its own anniversary with an event in Union Square. The department will be putting its best foot forward — new fire engines, antique fire equipment, a demonstration of an aerial ladder as tall as a six-story building and warnings about the chances for another big disaster.

Flimsy boom town

Fires have always been a menace in San Francisco, a city with a wooden heart. All the famous buildings are steel and concrete, but most of the residents live in wooden houses — in the Mission, in the prized Victorians of the Western Addition, in the stucco-covered homes of the Richmond and the Sunset districts. They’re lined up in rows, from the western hills to the ocean.

During the Gold Rush, San Francisco was a city built entirely of wood and canvas. It was a flimsy boom town if there ever was one. And on Christmas Eve 1849, a tremendous fire broke out. There was no defense, only men carrying buckets of water.

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Posted: Apr 17, 2016

Vintage Rolls Royce-Made Fire Engine Gets a Makeover

A vintage fire engine that dates back 90 years and sits in the Byculla headquarters of the Mumbai fire brigade is going to get a new lease of life thanks to the royal family of Gondal, near Rajkot in Gujarat.
The department was treated to a teaser on Friday when as part of the ongoing Fire Safety Week celebrations, the engine travelled from Byculla to Bandra, albeit atop a trailer. When its refurbishing is complete, the department hopes it rolls out once again, gracefully like it did in the 1980s before its machinery packed up. 

From the Rolls Royce stable, the engine — a turntable ladder, to be precise — was manufactured by the erstwhile British Leyland company in 1926 and procured by the Mumbai fire brigade in 1937 for a sum of about R1.5 lakh. It was an assembled fire engine; its chassis was British but its ladder was from Germany. Just when the department thought the engine would never hit the road again, Chief Fire Officer PS Rahangdale happened to have a chance meeting with members of the Gondal family, famed for their vintage automobile collection that includes an imposing Daimler Double Six and the Mercedes 300 SL. 

See more at: http://www.mid-day.com/articles/vintage-rolls-royce-made-fire-engine-gets-a-makeover/17141178#sthash.yACUcXB5.dpuf
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Posted: Apr 17, 2016

Oskaloosa Fire Department Unveils Its New Fire Engine

On Friday, April 15, the Oskaloosa Fire Department unveiled its new fire engine. It is a 2016 Rosenbauer Pumper Tanker. The engine was purchased in order to replace a 1986 Smeal pumper which has been put in use by the department for 30 years.

The intent of design for the new truck is to provide the most versatile city and rural truck possible for the most value, with the final cost of the engine being $281,000.

OFD believes this has been accomplished by doubling water capacity compared to the old engine, from 1,000 gallons to 2,000 gallons, as well as incorporating some other key features that will allow Oskaloosa Fire to use this engine as a first out apparatus for all types of calls.

The engine will be available for response as soon as OFD can outfit it with the appropriate tools, supplies, and equipment necessary.

Features of the 2016 Rosenbauer Pumper Tanker:

  • Freightliner Chassis
  • 1,250 gallon per minute waterous pump
  • 2,000 gallon water tank
  • 6,000 watt hydraulic generator
  • 2,000 gallon drop down portable water tank
  • Rear swivel dump chute
  • Meets or exceeds NFPA 1901 for Type 1 Engine
  • Front bumper pre-connect for car, brush, and dumpster type fires
  • Five 2 ½ inch discharges
  • 2 top load pre-connect lines
  • Pump and roll feature
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Posted: Apr 16, 2016

Welcome to FDIC International 2016

For individual FE videos.

Bobby Halton has a sneak peek at the preparations for the big show. FDIC International 2016 is here. Where are you?

 

Register at http://www.fdic.com/register.html

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Posted: Apr 16, 2016

Former Swartswood Fire Department Donates Tanker to Branchville Company

BRANCHVILLE -- The former Swartswood Volunteer Fire Department, which lost its official recognition by Stillwater Township earlier this year, found a new home for its tanker truck in the bays of the Branchville Hose Company No. 1, a surprise to many Branchville firefighters.

The donation was a few quiet weeks in the making, but the tanker truck from the former department was driven in at the end of the Branchville fire company's monthly meeting on Thursday night, with horns blaring, to the delight -- and complete shock -- of all firefighters who had not know about the "secret."

"We wanted to give it to a department that justified the need for it, and they had it," former Swartswood Fire Chief Anthony Ashley said.

The donation of the 2008 tanker truck, which holds 2,000 gallons of water, will "truly benefit" the Branchville company, said Keith Whitehead, fire chief of Branchville Hose Company No. 1.

After the Swartswood Volunteer Fire Department was no longer recognized by Stillwater Township,the result left the former fire department without its non-profit status. The department had to either donate any items it had left or sell the items; however, any money received from a sale would have to be donated to another non-profit organization, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

"This is a great story from bad to good," said Tony Frato, vice president of the Branchville Hose Company No. 1, who also serves as the borough's mayor.

For Ashley, the donation was bittersweet.

"It stinks, but we've always helped each other out, so it is going to someone who truly needs it," Ashley said of the donation. He said that he and former members took their time looking around to see which department was in need.

Whitehead said the additional tanker would greatly enhance the fire company's operations since it only has a mini pumper. In addition, the fire company's access to water is off Route 206, where there is minimal water pressure due to 4-inch water mains, resulting in a slower flow of water during a fire.

The mini pumper the fire department owns holds 275 gallons of water and 15 gallons of foam that is used to saturate materials inside a structure that may re-ignite. It pumps 1,000 gallons per minute.

The new truck will pump 1,250 gallons per minute and will hold more than seven times the amount of water. In addition, the fire truck

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