mack said:
68jk09 said:
CVILLE 7111 said:
I recall a blurb (in WNYF?) regarding helmet being field tested by a truck in the Bronx. Does anyone recall and/or have any info on that? It was back during the War Years.
Yes those were the "Darth Vader" Helmets i know LAD*19 had them as well as some other Units...during the early 1976 Atlantic Ave Supermarket Fire some of the Members of R*2 lost their Helmets in the Rescue of several FFs as well as the recovery of FF Charlie Sanchez LAD*131 RIP...the Job had collected these Helmets back from the Units testing them & gave one to each R*2 FF while they were having new Helmets made...the consensus was NG...they had no brim so hot water ran right down & worse the suspension had an opening all around (sort of like a football helmet) & this allowed heat to build up inside the Helmet....after the R*2 guys got new Helmets the Job did not even collect the "Darth Vaders" back..they were sitting on the gear rack when i got to R*2 in 1977 & remained laying around for quite awhile collecting dust .....FF Charlie Sanchez was the first FF from my proby class to become a LODD...he was a US Marine & Squad Leader in the proby class.
WNYF 1975 1st Issue:
CFDMarshal said:
Cairns 660 or 770. One was called the Phoenix and one was the Philadelphia.
Yes Rev, aka CFDMarshall, that was the name of those helmets. As the name indicates, I think the Philadelphia FD used them for many years. Maybe one of the Philly guys can confirm that with us.
I can relate to those helmets too. The entire dept of about 60 members were given the Cairns 660 metros (I believe they were called) along with the MSA Air Packs (?) to go with them. After about one year of use, the members pushed to get rid of them. And bear in mind, we were no FDNY or Philadelphia.
Unlike the leather helmets there was no brim for water to run off. Or where a piece of truck tire tube could be used to hold a small light. These 660s required a special light and a plastic holder to be attached to the helmet. You can probably guess how well that piece of specially designed plastic held up on the fire ground.
Through the efforts of the local IAFF officials we were able to arrange a deal to replace those Metros (?) 660.
During the year of using those 660s, some members wore T-shirts with a picture of a "leather helmet" on it that said: "LEATHER FOREVER".
68jk09 said:
i thought that was Willy D in the photo shown in reply # 108 above ?.....funny that this came up now as Monday i was with Willy in Bayside (yes he was having a burger) & on the wall was the original picture this clip was from showing Babe Ruth standing next to a Cop (or another player with a Cop's Hat & Jacket on) taken on the field in a Baseball Stadium.
Yes, I caught up with Chief JK, aka "68jk09", the other day in Bayside on a return trip from lower Manhattan I had made. Chief JK had pointed that Babe Ruth photo out to me which was displayed on the wall.
