A LOOK BACK.

"Captain784", I spent a lot of time buffing in those neighborhoods of NYC that you mention.
For many years 92/44 was the neighborhood I hung out in.
No doubt Captain Rainey, somewhere along our paths crossed.

I also spent a little time in Boston as you mention.

The picture you posted above in reply # 562, I believe is from the 1977 massive fire in Bushwick and I'm guessing, that tower ladder might be TL 105.
 
The runs back in 1970 only came via the bells, so no paper ticket was produced. The Officer would write the box # down and hope he didn't miss a few here and there. Maybe when we interchanged with them they never got the true number we did. When we did interchange with Squad 4 and we would be at Linden Blvd. and Fountain another run would come in and now we were directed to East NY and Howard. So in the end doing 30 or more runs a night, was it 9700 or 10,000 does it really matter now? It's something that will never be duplicated. But it was the most enjoyable time to be in the Fire Dept..
 
That indeed is my friend Ray Phillips "Gonzo" and the members of TL-29, in the photo. I worked in TL-29 as Covering Lieutenant in the mid 1980s. and worked with him at some really tough fires. He left L-29 to go to Rescue 3 where he was a leader and often the Chauffeur of "Big Blue" R-3. I left the Bronx to be assigned to Manhattans TL-21 in "Hell's Kitchen." We were friends until his sad passing from a WTC related heart condition.
I miss you "Gonzo." Captain Bob Rainey FDNY Engine 26 retired
 
The Ward LaFrance tractor on the aerial was the replacement for an older "bathtub" style American La France tractor. Notice the old Dept. Of Hospitals box truck on the service road, it was Grey over blue in color. That preceded D.O.H. becoming NYC Health & Hospitals.
 
 
My 1st unit in the FDNY out of Proby. School was Engine 27 at 173 Franklyn St. E-27 was 1st due at the Holland Tunnel Fire and so I saw some photos of this fire in the firehouse and hear stories that had been passed down over the years. E-27 was closed in 1976, but I still have some of the Company Journals. The truck that caused the fire was caring Carbon Disulfide and the fire was so intense that all the FDNY and N.J. firemen could do rescue those they could and wait for it to run out of fuel. In response to this fire companies near this and the Lincoln Tunnel Carried "Loftus Suction Collectors, to allow Engine Companys to be supplied from multiple tunnel standpipe outlets at one time.
Captain Bob Rainey FDNY Engine 26 retired.
 
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Captain784 said:
My 1st unit in the FDNY out of Proby. School was Engine 27 at 173 Franklyn St. E-27 was 1st due at the Holland Tunnel Fire and so I saw some photos of this fire in the firehouse and hear stores that had been passed down over the years. E-27 was closed in 1976 but I still have some of the Company Journals. The truck that caused the fire was caring Carbon Disulfide and the fire was so intense that al the FDNY and N.J. firemen rescue those they could and wait for it to run out of fuel. In response to this fire companies near this and the Lincoln Tunnel Carried "Loftus Suction Collectors, to allow Engine Companys to be supplies from multiple tunnel standpipe outlets at one time.
Captain Bob Rainey FDNY Engine 26 retired.
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Relative to the Loftus Suctions, a story related by my dad years ago....One day a Chief visited the quarters of Engine xx and as the Officer and members stood on the apparatus floor the Chief inspected the rig. He asked the Officer where the Loftus Suction was and the reply was "Oh that thing, it's down the basement where it belongs." The Chief was Loftus and the Officer lifted.
 
XPFD3 said:
CARBON DISULFIDE. Memories of old study material. Flow water gently on the surface.
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Wow!! Great memory! Yes one of the few flammable liquids that if on fire can be extinguished with water and does not require foam for extinguishment.
 
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