"Mayday" and Other Expressions - Where Did They Come From?

grumpy grizzly

grumpy grizzly

Joined
Jun 27, 2007
Messages
3,374
Flew combat in SEA. You always monitor "guard" channel. Ejection activates a "beeper" which also in on gaurd. You want to hear a vocal MayDay, you know it is a successful ejection. Search and Rescue (SAR) kicks into high gear. Like the Fire Department, we WILL come and get you! MAYDAY means I need help, please help me. And we WILL come and get you!!
 
svd385

svd385

Joined
May 22, 2009
Messages
286
Growing up in a semi rural section of the bronx I would call a fire hydrant either a "plug, fire plug or johnny pump".  I knew the origin of the "plugs" from the wooden water main days but could never figure out or find "johnny pump".  It didn't matter whether visiting relatives in queens  or brooklyn it seemed that those two expression were universal for the hydrant.  Can anyone shed some light on where "Johnny Pump" came from?
 
M

manhattan

Joined
Dec 7, 2007
Messages
1,557
I seem to remember that it has something to do with "Johnnies", ie Probies, but I forget exactly what.  It's probably one of those expressions that has more than one background story.
 
grumpy grizzly

grumpy grizzly

Joined
Jun 27, 2007
Messages
3,374
Back in the day Boston downtown companies carried "Lowry" hydrants. Look at any pix of companies back in the 60's E-10 had one, taken care of by the members. Hydrant is on the rear of the rig. 48 hours was in Boston, caught a multiple in Chinatown. Some mope shut down the high pressure (black with a red bonnet and four outlets), system was OOS. E-10 found a cistern for the Lowry chuck, it is a heavy peice of equipment but it is good as sliced bread. E-10 supplied the Tower Unit and several engine lines.. Sadly at another job some idiot ran over 10"s Lowry and it was destroyed. Hope the car was as well. Drilled with 10, it is a heavy and arkward peice to get in operation, get it going, well lots of blue stuff on the red stuff. PS. I do not know if downtown companies still carry Lowry's.
 
svd385

svd385

Joined
May 22, 2009
Messages
286
Found a little info on the Lowery..,

"Lowrey" hydrant, used to connect to one of Boston's three (3) hydrant systems. The "Lowrey" is connected to underground hydrants stems located under manhole covers, mostly in the downtown Boston area. Today five engine companies still carry "Lowrey" hydrants.
 
68jk09

68jk09

Joined
May 6, 2010
Messages
15,726
OK...in the reference from mack regarding Chicago calling a Chiefs Rig a "buggy" brings back a memory that i may have posted before....years ago when i was a FF in R*2 we were taking up from a Fire around Prospect Park in an OMD...we had 2 FFs from Chi town riding w/us & all of a sudden they came running yelling "they are stealing the buggy" ...the PD on the scene told them "get behind the Fire line & stop yelling"....it was soon realized that a miscreant around the corner had jumped in the 48*BN Rig & hauled ass.....the rig was found soon after several blocks away.
 
M

manhattan

Joined
Dec 7, 2007
Messages
1,557
This Lowry looks at least similar to the hydrant systems used in the UK, the Middle East, South Asia and Arabian Gulf countries.

IRISH: If you're out there, would you know anything about this?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top