Police said a Rochester fire truck was involved in a car crash Sunday. 

Officers say that the collision happened on Mt. Read near Garland. As the fire truck was making a u-turn, it was struck by a southbound vehicle. Officials say the fire truck had its emergency lights on at the time of the crash. 

The driver of the other vehicle was treated at the scene. Investigators say that he will be ticketed. 

For more information, view whec.com

Simplex Aerospace announced the receipt of an FAA STC for its High Rise Firefighting System, Model 516, for the Airbus Helicopters H225. The High Rise Firefighting System, nicknamed the SkyCannon™, also recently received a Japanese JCAB. This Simplex SkyCannon™ will be the first helicopter based high-rise firefighting system to be operated in Japan.

The Simplex Model 516 SkyCannon™ was delivered to Japan Aerospace for delivery to Tokyo Fire Department. The flight test was performed September 2015 at Tokyo Fire Department.

President and CEO Mark Zimmerman explained, “The SkyCannon™ is a rapid response skyscraper firefighting system with the capabilities of a ground-based fire truck. The SkyCannon™ allows aerial firefighters to arrive at a fire quickly, free of traffic congestion, and prevent the fire from spreading as ground firefighting crews combat the fire from within the building, thereby providing occupants valuable time to evacuate. To date, Simplex has produced SkyCannon™ systems for the Avicopter AC313 and Airbus Helicopters H225, and the company plans to adapt the system to additional aircraft platforms in the future.

The Simplex Aerospace SkyCannon™ High Rise Firefighting system is the result of several years of research and development into determining an efficient and safe method for fighting high-rise building fires. Fires in high-rise buildings can quickly grow out of the range of conventional ground based firefighting equipment. Using an aerial firefighting system mounted in a helicopter allows firefighters to reach the fire before it spreads to the upper floors of the building. The Simplex Aerospace SkyCannon™ gives fire fighters a valuable new tool to save lives and property in the event of a high rise building fire.

Founded in 1946, Simplex has built a reputation as the leader in design, manufacturing, and certification of aerial application systems and mission equipment for helicopters. Simplex maintains its industry leadership by incorporating the latest technology in designing and manufacturing systems from high-strength, low-weight composite materials to produce reliable and cost-effective solutions for firefighting, agriculture, utilities maintenance, and other aerial applications. For more information, please visit them at www.simplex.aero.

Click Above for More Pictures of the Fox >>

By Ron Heal

A recent field trip by the Heart of Illinois Fire Enthusiasts and Collectors (HOIFEC ) took them from central Illinois to the southwest side of Chicago. Their destination was the Fire Museum of Greater Chicago. The focus of the outing was to look over a 1928 Ahrens-Fox 1,000-gpm N-S-2 piston pumper. An added benefit was to learn more about the building that houses the big pumper and the organization that keeps things moving to preserve the history and tradition of the fire service in the Greater Chicago area.

The Fire Museum of Greater Chicago is located at 5218 S. Western Avenue in Chicago, IL. The building served as a firehouse to Chicago (IL) Fire Department (CFD) Engine 123 and Ambulance 8. Opened in 1916 as one of three similar two-story brick structures in use by the Chicago Fire Department, it would remain in use as a fire station until 1974. When the engine and ambulance moved over a few blocks to new quarters, the building was used by other City of Chicago agencies off and on until eventually the building was abandoned and boarded up.

In 2008 the Fire Museum of Greater Chicago was looking for a home that could house a growing collection of fire history and memorabilia. This group is a 501 C3 not-for-profit group that is some 1,100 members strong. There are a good number of active firefighters as well as many retired Chicago and area firefighters and their families that belong. Membership is a modest $30.00 a year for an individual. There are additional levels of membership. A very dedicated core group of approximately 15 persons are the heart of the museum.

When the group entered into a lease with the city in 2008, they were recipients of a structure that was badly in need of major repairs. Many changes had been made to the first floor. Office cubicles had been built on the apparatus floor. The apparatus doorway had been bricked shut; windows had been boarded up; the roof leaked; and there was three feet of water in the basement. Did I say the furnaces did not work? For the next two years members and volunteers would organize a clean-up and restoration that would include a new roof, new windows, restoring the apparatus floor, new glass block windows on the first floor, exterior tuck pointing, replacing the front apparatus door brick work with new apparatus doors, and installing three new furnaces. Much of this work was accomplished with donated labor and materials. Today the second floor awaits restoration so more of the fire history and memorabilia can be properly displayed.

When the HOIFEC group was greeted by retired District Division Chief (ret.) Jack Connors and his son Tim, now a CFD firefighter, the first thing that got our attention was old Engine 10, a 1928 Ahrens-Fox N-S-2 piston pumper. The rig carries serial number 3343, and it’s a beauty! The big pumper had a record of long service with the department starting as Engine 10. It later would serve as Engine 1, Engine 6, and Engine 4 before being retired some 33 year