Western Electric had it's own fire department

https://chicagoareafire.com/blog/2012/10/western-electric-fire-department-in-cicero-il/

now and then I get to get into a fire dept while on the job. Yesterday I was in two, and both had display cases of museum pieces

I never heard of a Plectron before! 

and I never heard of a "Disposable Obstetrical Kit" 

Jeremy Renner is working on some busses n stuff for his upcoming tv show

https://www.instagram.com/JeremyRenner/

ever heard of a Spangler? Me neither, until reading about fire engines today. There's a reason why no one's heard of Spanglers, only 2 were made.

It was nicknamed Big Bertha, because they discovered too late, that it couldn't make some turns at intersections in town, as the street were too narrow

This was bought by Hellerton, another went to Friendship Fire Co in Morgantown, PA. They were a model that Hahn introduced, but not with any idea that it was a complete waste of money and time

Spangler Engineering and Sales Company, a separate company from Hahn, But D.H. Spangler was on the board of Hahn and his rigs were assembled in the Hahn plants.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Firefighting/comments/4vf4su/in_1954_dewey_fire_company_hellertown_pa/

It got so tired it laid down and took a nap

https://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5156036-Vintage-photos-Awesome!/page494

late 50's firestation

https://www.mopar-forum.eu/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=9064&start=1400

no one can easily afford to restore fire trucks, and this abandoned fire truck sits behind a house that was once used by a local fire department where they would practice rescue drills and fire safety.

https://www.instagram.com/st.severus/

This 1938 Diamond T was a rescue and forest fire truck for Yellowstone National Park it sold a year ago, it was located in Danbury, Connecticut, and the owner had the price at $50,000

https://barnfinds.com/vintage-rescue-vehicle-1938-diamond-t-rescue-vehicle/

for a different look to some common things, these had a face transplant from a Dodge A100

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showpost.php?p=8307782&postcount=1144

The Palm Springs Fire Department showcases its fire trucks in 1940.

Rated as one of the finest small town fire departments in the west, the Palm Springs Fire Department welcomed a new MACK Model 95 fire truck to the department’s lineup Sept. 6, 1940.

https://www.palmspringslife.com/explore-palm-springs-welcome-new-fire-truck/

Foward Control Jeep fire truck

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/8994292-post32892.html

A very cool fire truck in front of Engine Company #43, 10234 National Blvd, in September 1942.

http://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5863669&postcount=9792

fire dept competition Jaguar

http://carzhunt.blogspot.com/2014/01/of-course-its-alf-rhino-speedster-fire.html

a variety of cool 1930s fire trucks

https://myntransportblog.com/2016/02/07/american-lafrance-1873-2014-usa/

How a JOX model American LaFrance ladder truck was delivered in the 40s

The straight-frame Model JO and JOX was the industry's fist compact, cab forward service aerial. The JO/JOX established the basic configuration of American aerial ladder trucks for many years to come. This pioneering design placed the engine and driver ahead of the front axle. An extremely wide cab enveloped the entire front end of the vehicle. The compact JO/JOX was significantly shorter than a conventional six-wheel tractor-trailer aerial ladder truck. With an overall length of 40 feet, 30 inches, the JO/JOX would fit into any fire station that could house a standard city service ladder truck. Best of all there was no need for a tillerman to steer the rear end of the apparatus.

https://www.trucksplanet.com/catalog/model.php?id=1217

great looking 1950s fire dept

http://transpressnz.blogspot.com/2016/04/early-1950s-american-lafrance-turnable.html

1920s Lincoln converted into an emergency response vehicle

https://www.facebook.com/1545149182397153/photos/a.1564962900415781.1073741844.1545149182397153/1843726239206111/?type=3

one of the things that made the USA a cool place to be, was the firefighter team competitions... on Long Island they used to race cars as part of the championship... some far out hemi cars too, backwards Corvettes, etc. Crazy shit, I LOVE it!

Back in 1965, ABC ran a television show called Wide World of Sports. On one of their shows they had a fireman's competition between different fire departments in the country. The competition involved putting five fireman on the back of a homemade firetruck and taking off from a dead stop and hooking hoses to fire hydrants, unloading ladders, etc. It was like a quarter mile of competition to see who could do it the fastest time.

the above Dart is an altrered wheel base wrinkle wall monster, a Super Stock Hurst special?

One of the fire departments on Long Island, the Central Islip Fire Department drill team used a 1965 hemi Coronet with a truck back end welded in place where the trunk would have been.

All found on http://members.tripod.com/termites_drillteam_1/oldpics/page_3.html
http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/ml-heininger65firetruck.html

the 1966 and 68, West Sayville Flying Dutchmen

And this competition still happens!

but to really spin your brain, they have a full photo gallery of all the cool old race cars on a Facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/pg/NYSDrillTeamMemories/photos/?tab=album&album_id=310852747035

Dexter,  New York, has a 1st  mention of a "foot team" in the dept. minutes in 1898 and participation continued into the late 1980's.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/dexternyhistory/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1136855399765476

http://nysdrillteams.x9494.com/

and one Facebook page is looking to connect us to all of them, there seem to be about 70 teams  https://www.facebook.com/NYSFireDeptDrillTeams/

3 years ago Hemmings ran an article on one of these race cars, and called it a Fire Chiefs car.

The object is, a team of competitors board a customized vehicle that looks sort of like a fire truck. They line up at a starting line against another team and, on signal, race for 475 feet. The rigs halt, they dismount, and hook a hose to a hydrant before hitting a target with the water stream. Or, throw a ladder against a platform and scramble to the top.

 So on one level, it's a car race. Today's hottest "trucks" are often based on tubular steel chassis originally designed for drag racing or paved-oval Modifieds. One team famously used to use a mid-1960s Corvette body turned around backwards, with the fastback rear window serving as a driver's windshield and the engine bay, less hood, as a hose bed.

Where these contests exist, almost all in New York, they're big, big stuff. Millions were first exposed to firemen's jousts during the 1960s when ABC's Wide World of Sports, which had a top producer living on Long Island, discovered them. Their proximity and low production costs made them staple segments on the program, like figure-eight racing and demolition derbies from nearby Islip Speedway. A Web site specializing in the drills, www.nysdrillteams.com, lists well over 100 fire companies with drill teams, about 75 percent from Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island.

https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-fire-chief-always-got-coolest-car.html