Recent content by entropychaser

A class act! I got to see him doing his night club act in Vegas years ago. While singing, he went through the audience shaking hands-including mine. BTW- today is Bobby Vinton's 91st birthday. He's from Canonsburg, Pa., southwest of Pittsburgh. Canonsburg is also the birthplace of Perry Como...

Up until 1919, North Avenue was Baltimore's northern city line. Forty years ago this box was in the middle of circle made up by Engine 18, Engine 19, Engine 28, Engine 1, Truck 11, and Truck 5. All now gone. Budget cuts can produce a strange landscape.

Two blocks up the hill from 25's old quarters and a stone's throw from the old Iron City Brewery across Liberty Avenue. When 25 answered boxes in Bloomfield, they went through 34th and Ligonier.

As always, the guiding principle is "Tell me the rules, I'll play the game." To promote new housing in NYC, in 2024, the State Legislature passed a new tax program labeled 485-x. This provided certain tax exemptions for new housing construction in the city. As you would expect, the devil is in...

Hook and Ladder Company 40 was established in 1908 and placed in a new firehouse designed by Howard Constable at 6 Hancock Place. They later moved into a Soviet style firehouse with Engine Company 37 (from 503 W 126th St) on West 125th Street. The house sat empty for several years until...

It better be Friday.

Houston FD confined space rescue matrix: 82- Engine, Squad, Ambulance

Acoustic fire suppression was investigated by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) 15 years ago. Ten years ago an acoustic extinguisher similar to a subwoofer was built. As noted, the principle is to block combustion by pushing oxygen molecules away from fuel. Attempting...

This was a great look back. I think this was before the era of FDNY 10-signals. You certainly would have heard the All-Hands 7-5 signal on the primary and secondary bell circuits.

Certainly the old days. Taking a feed....hanging out a window looking for some air... Sitting on the back step with mild carbon monoxide poisoning....glassy eyed...moving slowly...puking....pasted! Spend the rest of the afternoon coughing sludge out of your lungs.....taking recoup time (Take...

For those who may have forgotten: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Harlem_mosque_incident Then we have Bill Ayers: close friend of President Obama, Columbia University graduate (of course), founder of the Weather Underground, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and implicated (but never...

You mean to tell me that 79/37 and the two-seven don't even get a mark for the run, much less credit for a first due job?

This former GM plant is one of the largest automotive-glass manufacturing operations in the world. They supply their products to GM, Ford, BMW, and Honda. Car production disruption extent is unknown at this time (companies won't comment). This Chinese owned plant employed 3,000 workers and was...

I realize it's only a block, 30 seconds, or so, but; Rescue was "assigned" and 27 Truck was first due. Seems like in the old days the CO would turn out Rescue for something nearby that sounded like work. This would have been in the era of Rescue going on the 7-5 Signal with the Deputy.