Fire Engines Photos

Sorta looks like, it could snap in the middle, doesn't it?

But, it reduces the climb up - looks like the Pump Operator is practically standing on the chassis members.

Nice job of enclosing some hose-beds.

And, is that the Booster Reel, below the right rear crew-door?
(Mostly seen atop rigs, in North America)

Regards, from Canada,
Pat_R-B

Added by Pat Rivers-Bowerman on 09 January 2009.

Pat,
That is a booster reel under the crew door. This has been done off and on since the '60s. We had a Pirsch pumper on a Ford cabover chassis that had the booster reel on each side in a compatment and rollers under the compt. door. This may possibly be a Clay Fire Apparatus and they did that on a lot of their pumpers. But in our Department, booster reel have been outlawed and we only have trash lines in the front bumper. I think they have a place on pumpers, but some Chief somewhere decided we didn't need them anymore, so out they went. I miss them and think we should have kept at least one reel on every pumper.

Added by TheFireman on 09 January 2009.

Reels can be very useful, especially if a department needs to handle brush fires. Several California departments still have them on pumpers for this reason. They can be reeled in very fast if it is needed to move the apparatus - which can often happen. They also come in handy at car fires because they are easy to move around, and some departments use them for cool-down and overhaul because they are so much easier to handle in confined spaces, and the rate of discharge is comparatively low to reduce water damage.

By the way, looking at this side view of the hood and crew cab, I think this pumper is an International, not a Freightliner.

Added by Rob Johnson on 11 September 2013.

I sorely missed booster line in the later years before retirement. It's pitiful that Fire Chiefs got a notion in their head we didn't need these and stopped putting booster lines on pumpers. Sad, very sad when Chiefs don't listen to their folks!

Added by RJ Duncan on 12 September 2013.

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