Fire Engines Photos

Nice graphical portrait of the "business end", from an era when most north American pumpers still carried a "booster" reel (first aid hosereel). These were usually mounted either above the pump, or low down in the rear panel above the step, as in this photo. The payout window, constructed of rolling metal tubes, facilitated unrolling the hose to either side of the pumper, and later became a universal tool in almost every country.

Now, booster reels have been discontinued by most fire departments. Instead, many use a one-inch (25mm) diameter flat hose, often referred to as a "trash line". This is frequently installed either as an extra crosslay above the pump or in a front bumper tray. The main reason for eliminating the reels was that fire crews were often too eager to rely on them in situations where the incident really called for higher water flows than the reels could supply. First attack is now usually to deploy a 1.5 or 2 inch crosslay, which can easily support a flow of 120 to 150 USGPM or higher.

Added by Rob Johnson on 18 August 2014.

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