| Let's open the mailbag.
Regarding last month's anecdotes about fire trucks too
big for their stations, readers responded with stories of their
own: "My department in a Boston suburb purchased two
new E-One 110' aerial ladders. One fit in Headquarters, but the
other was just about 2 inches too tall for its station. On the
first attempt, the overhead door was damaged. The factory
mirrors were also too wide. Off they came and the mechanic had
to make custom mirrors. And all this after the city
already lowered the original floor 18 inches."
Another reader related this tale: "Several years
ago, Chicago O'Hare ordered their first crash truck with the
Snozzle boom. It fits into all of the stations just fine, but
has some trouble fitting through the tunnel that goes under the
runway / taxiway. Every time it needs to get from one side
of the airport to the other, it switches over to the
Control Tower radio frequency and acts like a plane asking for
its place in line to cross the active runways.
Keith Hoskins also sent a
story set in Central
Missouri , while Gary Judd passed along this picture.
On the December subject of fire apparatus sites, Karen
Kruse recommended www.achicagofirehouse.com. It's
her site, about her book, about a Chicago firehouse (and the
engine and ambulance that Code 3 replicated). "A
Chicago Firehouse: Stories of Wrigleyville's Engine 78"
is published by Arcadia Publishing-- the same people who are
publishing a second book from Yours Truly.
The November column covered display cases, Matthew
Schumman sent a photograph and a description of how he displays his Code 3 models:
"They are CD storage racks that were sold by IKEA and were
under $100.00. The top, bottom, and back are made from white
laminate-covered particleboard; the sides, front, and shelves
are glass. There are 4 shelves in each unit plus the bottom.
Each shelf accommodates 8-10 pumpers with the grill pointing out
and about 6 rescues or aerials placed sideways. The units are
about 3 feet tall, 12 inches deep, and very heavy."
Adding to the October column about favorite fire
engine books. Readers, including Steve McGuire and Tim
Collins, responded with recommendations of their own:
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Aerial Fire Trucks by Larry Shapiro (MBI/1999)
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Crown Firecoach: 1951-1985 Photo Archive by Chuck
Madderom (Iconografix/2001)
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Fighting Fire Trucks by Larry Shapiro (MBI/1999)
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Fire Rigs Fighting Fires by John F. Sytsma (John F.
Sytsma/1982)
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Hook and Ladders by Larry Shapiro (MBI/2002)
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Maxim Fire Apparatus: 1914-1989 Photo Archive by
Howard T. Smith (Iconografix / 2001)
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Oshkosh Trucks: 75 Years of Specialty Truck Production
by David K. Wright and Clarence J. Jungwirth. (MBI / 2000)
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Pumpers: Workhorse Fire Engines by Larry Shapiro
(MBI/1999)
Another reader of October's column inquired about Fire
Apparatus Journal subscription information. See www.fireapparatusjournal.com.
Finally, on September's subject of photographing
models, Chris Huff corrected my compression rates typo. I meant
0% to 20%, not 100% to 80%. D'oh!
A version of this column originally appeared at
Code 3 Collectibles.
Copyright 2023 by Michael J. Legeros
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