When the WLF Firebrands went into service in1960 they were nicknamed "The Pagoda" by the firefighters because the cab looked like it had been designed in Chinatown. This was not a popular buy for the men. They felt it a step back in the quality of equipment, as they had with the purchase of the FWD wooden aerials in 1955. They preferred the C Model Mack's that had entered the job beginning in 1958.
G-man is correct in their use as replacements for the older rigs. E42 got one, retiring its 1941 Mack "L", which they had received from the factory and was still going strong after nineteen years of front line service. Some Firebrands replaced older WLF's (E40, up the street from my high school on Amsterdam Ave.) or the last of the 1947 "L"'s (E46, 82) still working in busy areas. After the Firebrands, I don't believe there were any more pre -war pumpers as front line rigs, although some remained as 2d piece hose wagons for a few years.
WLF's were never very popular among the firefighters. The pumpers and hose wagons of the late 1930's were considered to be junk, hard to steer and always breaking down. They were no match for the Mack and Ahrens-Fox models of that era. The post-WWII WLF's were considered "lightweights", less durable than the Mack "L" and "B"models and the American LaFrance cab forwards. In fact, they WERE lighter, with part of the body frame made of wood. Their redeeming feature was the booster tank, the first rigs in the FDNY to have them. No more hooking up and long stretches just to knock down a car, brush, or "EL" fire.
In fact, the 1950's WLF's proved quite durable. E79 had their 1951 model for eighteen years. Although located on the periphery of the Bronx' busy areas, that rig saw a lot of fire duty as 79 went south of Fordham Road and interchanged with E50.
The WLF CD pumper fleet was a lifesaver for the FDNY. Purchased by the federal government in the aftermath of WWII, they were supposed to augment the Department in case air raids like the London Blitz. With the development of jet aircraft, missiles, and nuclear weapons the concept was obsolete by the time the CD's arrived. They mostly sat around in quarters for a decade when they reverted to City ownership. By 1965, they were like horseshit in the old days, seen everywhere around the city as spares and even front line apparatus. They bridged the gap until the new Macks arrived in the late 1960's.
G-man is correct in their use as replacements for the older rigs. E42 got one, retiring its 1941 Mack "L", which they had received from the factory and was still going strong after nineteen years of front line service. Some Firebrands replaced older WLF's (E40, up the street from my high school on Amsterdam Ave.) or the last of the 1947 "L"'s (E46, 82) still working in busy areas. After the Firebrands, I don't believe there were any more pre -war pumpers as front line rigs, although some remained as 2d piece hose wagons for a few years.
WLF's were never very popular among the firefighters. The pumpers and hose wagons of the late 1930's were considered to be junk, hard to steer and always breaking down. They were no match for the Mack and Ahrens-Fox models of that era. The post-WWII WLF's were considered "lightweights", less durable than the Mack "L" and "B"models and the American LaFrance cab forwards. In fact, they WERE lighter, with part of the body frame made of wood. Their redeeming feature was the booster tank, the first rigs in the FDNY to have them. No more hooking up and long stretches just to knock down a car, brush, or "EL" fire.
In fact, the 1950's WLF's proved quite durable. E79 had their 1951 model for eighteen years. Although located on the periphery of the Bronx' busy areas, that rig saw a lot of fire duty as 79 went south of Fordham Road and interchanged with E50.
The WLF CD pumper fleet was a lifesaver for the FDNY. Purchased by the federal government in the aftermath of WWII, they were supposed to augment the Department in case air raids like the London Blitz. With the development of jet aircraft, missiles, and nuclear weapons the concept was obsolete by the time the CD's arrived. They mostly sat around in quarters for a decade when they reverted to City ownership. By 1965, they were like horseshit in the old days, seen everywhere around the city as spares and even front line apparatus. They bridged the gap until the new Macks arrived in the late 1960's.
