FDNY - Something Different

firebuffkevin · May 8, 2012

FDNY - Vintage - May 1972
Location: Brownsville section of Brooklyn, NYC, NY
Alarms: All Hands (one).

Something rarely seen in modern NYC firefighting: using a manned handline from an extended aerial ladder.

An exterior attack was used to extinguish this vacant building fire in short order.

FDNY - Something Different by paulv2c, on Flickr

fdny1075k · May 30, 2012

Rarely, if ever seen. The guy on the nob looks like he's about to fall through.

Where's a tower ladder when you need one?

johnd248 · Jun 1, 2012

Probably back when the city only had one or two Tower Ladders.

fdny1075k · Jun 1, 2012

johnd248 said:
Probably back when the city only had one or two Tower Ladders.

Yeah, 1's and 114's I believe.

turk132 · Jun 1, 2012

fdny1075k said:
johnd248 said:

Probably back when the city only had one or two Tower Ladders.

Click to expand...

Yeah, 1's and 114's I believe.

1 & 14

blzdp · Jun 1, 2012

adapt and overcome. All the tower ladders were probably operating at fires, they were a hot commodity back in the day(I would assume)

fdny1075k · Jun 1, 2012

blzdp said:
adapt and overcome. All the tower ladders were probably operating at fires, they were a hot commodity back in the day(I would assume)

Yeah, back in the day, they really saw their share of work. I believe the very first Mack C Aerialscope was Ladder 1 in Manhattan. Then, I think Brooklyn got one, but I'm not too sure which company got it. Then, there was the 100' Tower Ladders made by ALF that were Ladder's 14 and 114.

chiefblackcloud · Jun 1, 2012

fdny1075k said:
blzdp said:

adapt and overcome. All the tower ladders were probably operating at fires, they were a hot commodity back in the day(I would assume)

Click to expand...

Yeah, back in the day, they really saw their share of work. I believe the very first Mack C Aerialscope was Ladder 1 in Manhattan. Then, I think Brooklyn got one, but I'm not too sure which company got it. Then, there was the 100' Tower Ladders made by ALF that were Ladder's 14 and 114.

14 and 119 were the ALF's.

68jk09 · Jun 1, 2012

blzdp said:
adapt and overcome. All the tower ladders were probably operating at fires, they were a hot commodity back in the day(I would assume)

........Back in the day more fires were put out w/handlines then today........some of the uses of TLs in some bldgs would be considered unacceptable back then......probably resulting in more injuries though......the stang was used on occasion for a partial knockdown in a heavily involved vacant......also the permanently affixed bed ladderpipe could be used but it was primarily handlines......when TLs were first utilized the stream would usually only be used for a minute or so then allowing an attack line to get a foothold (masks were rarely used then) .....today for the most part once a TL starts it seems many times it is overused & puts a tremendous amount of water weight into a bldg.

nfd2004 · Jun 1, 2012

scamall dubh said:
fdny1075k said:

blzdp said:

adapt and overcome. All the tower ladders were probably operating at fires, they were a hot commodity back in the day(I would assume)

Click to expand...

Yeah, back in the day, they really saw their share of work. I believe the very first Mack C Aerialscope was Ladder 1 in Manhattan. Then, I think Brooklyn got one, but I'm not too sure which company got it. Then, there was the 100' Tower Ladders made by ALF that were Ladder's 14 and 114.

Click to expand...

No sir, I believe the First Macks were 1 and 14. The ALFs were 14 and 163.

14 and 119 were the ALF's.

jeepcj85 · Dec 13, 2012

also pretty sure there were a lot more than 2 tower ladders in 1972.

johnd248 · Dec 14, 2012

I believe the first TL in BKLYN was L 105. Could be wrong.

CVILLE7111 · Dec 14, 2012

Maybe 119 Truck?

1261Truckie · Dec 15, 2012

First tower in Brooklyn was indeed TL-119, much to the chagrin of 105

nfd2004 · Dec 15, 2012

As I remember it, Ladder 1 and Ladder 14 were the First Mack Tower Ladders.

Then Ladder 114, a Stuphen tower Ladder went into service. But that was after several macks TLs were all ready in service.

Then Ladder 14 got a Stuphen also. But still, Mack was the main provider of most of the Tower Ladders in service.

Then Ladder 14 and 163 got the ALF rear mounts with front bucket. Those Big massive ALFs.

After several more years, Mack provided the Tower Ladders, and some 95 footers then went into service.

Then came the Seagraves.

johnd248 · Dec 15, 2012

I remember L 119 with a Sutphen, not L 114. Could be wrong.

nfd2004 · Dec 15, 2012

johnd248 said:
I remember L 119 with a Sutphen, not L 114. Could be wrong.

You're right John. it was L 119.

svd385 · Dec 16, 2012

Ladder 14 and ladder 119 were both Stuphen 100 ft. tower ladders with 1250gpm pumps (quints) but were probably never used to pump with.

Tower Ladder 119

Tower Ladder 14

The 100FT. ALF's were also quint tower ladders.

mack · Dec 18, 2012

Initial FDNY tower ladder purchases:

1964 - 1 75 Ft Mack Aerialscope - assigned Ladder 1
1966 - 1 75 Ft Mack diesel - assigned Ladder 14
1969 - 4 75 Ft Mack "C" model (Ladder 119 received TL with white boom - others were gray)
1971 - 11 75 Macks "CF" model
1972 - 20 75 Ft Mack "CF" model
1973 - 20 75 Ft Mack "CF" model
1974 - 11 75 Ft Mack "CF" model

68 TLs purchased by 1974.

FDNY also purchased 54 rear mount ladders from 1969-1974. Intitial 110 Ft models were from Seagrave and ALF. Seagrave produced all rear mounts after initial ALF prototype. Enclosed cab safety and firehouse space limitations for 2nd section ladder companies were factors for rear mounts.

Budget crisis hit in 1974 in the midst of the War Years and limited ladder apparatus purchases for several years.

Innovations during this period - tower ladders and rear mounts with enclosed riding positions and diesel power. Last wood aerials replaced. Double section engines, trucks and battalions. TCUs with expanded crews which operated during high volume hours. New division, battalions, companies formed. Interchange system to move busy companies at night. Adaptive response (only 2 + 1 and chief). Discretionary response boxes (DRBs). Rapid water. Squirt articulating boom engine companies. Fire salvage units. Temporary firehouses - Tin Houses. And new brush units.

kidfrmqns · Dec 18, 2012

mack said:
Initial FDNY tower ladder purchases:

1964 - 1 75 Ft Mack Aerialscope - assigned Ladder 1
1966 - 1 75 Ft Mack diesel - assigned Ladder 14
1969 - 4 75 Ft Mack "C" model (Ladder 119 received TL with white boom - others were gray)
1971 - 11 75 Macks "CF" model
1972 - 20 75 Ft Mack "CF" model
1973 - 20 75 Ft Mack "CF" model
1974 - 11 75 Ft Mack "CF" model

68 TLs purchased by 1974.

FDNY also purchased 54 rear mount ladders from 1969-1974. Intitial 110 Ft models were from Seagrave and ALF. Seagrave produced all rear mounts after initial ALF prototype. Enclosed cab safety and firehouse space limitations for 2nd section ladder companies were factors for rear mounts.

Budget crisis hit in 1974 in the midst of the War Years and limited ladder apparatus purchases for several years.

Innovations during this period - tower ladders and rear mounts with enclosed riding positions and diesel power. Last wood aerials replaced. Double section engines, trucks and battalions. TCUs with expanded crews which operated during high volume hours. New division, battalions, companies formed. Interchange system to move busy companies at night. Adaptive response (only 2 + 1 and chief). Discretionary response boxes (DRBs). Rapid water. Squirt articulating boom engine companies. Fire salvage units. Temporary firehouses - Tin Houses. And new brush units.

So from 1964-1969 did Ladder 1 and 14 pick up a lot of extra running being special called city wide?

FDNY - Something Different

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