Snorkels and the FDNY

firebuffkevin

firebuffkevin

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Nov 27, 2008
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Did the FDNY ever test or use snorkels? Does anybody know the reasoning behind the decision? 

Several major city departments do use snorkels.
 
I am very sure that the FDNY never used a Snorkel. And yes, Chicago was the first city to ever use a Snorkel. The Chief at the time saw some guys cutting trees using them and he got the idea to use something like this at the scene of a fire. I believe today, Chicago still runs with a few Snorkels as part of their Snorkel/Squad Companies. Last I knew they ran with a Rescue and Snorkel as a two piece company. The units are called Snorkel/Squad 1, (S.S. 1) S.S. 2, and S.S. 5. Maybe our friend from "The Windy City", Grumpy can help us out.

  My brother was the chaffer for a Snorkel in Bridgeport, Ct for several years. It was very diffucult to manuver and operate. It had a large overhang in the front and in the back making it diffucult to make turns. At a job it was limited by the angle of the boom. If it was a narrow street or there were trees or poles he had to watch the center of the boom as it swung around.

  Apparently the city felt that it didn't work out so well because they have bought Tower Ladders after that.

  And I know Jersey City in the 80s had a real monster American LaFrance Snorkel. It had a huge front overhang. If there is anybody on this site that operated that rig, I'm sure they'd have a few nightmares to talk about.
 
Ironically the first pure snorkel was rejected by Chicago. It was purchased by the near-by suburb of Bedford Park. And as a matter of semantics Chicago's rigs are referred as Suad 1, 2, or 5. Back during Chicago's busy times there was a unit Snorkel Squad 1 or SS-1. The entire city was its response area, company was quartered @ 1044 N. Orleans.
 
San Francisco had one snorkel, Truck 8, that's now still in service, albiet the boom, as a department fuel truck. The snorkel can be seen in a few shots, briefly in the 1974 movie, The Towering Inferno.

Apparently, LACo.FD had a snorkel or two back in the day, or at least according to Emergency!.

By the way, Chicago's Seagrave Snorkel was seen briefly in the John Candy movie, Only the Lonely in '91.
 
A big factor in not having them is that in much of NYC most of the utilities, phone, power, cable are underground so the advantage of a snorkel in reaching over or around overhead wires is minimal compared with other communities.
 
811 said:
A big factor in not having them is that in much of NYC most of the utilities, phone, power, cable are underground so the advantage of a snorkel in reaching over or around overhead wires is minimal compared with other communities.
Click to expand...

  I know that was one of the problems also for Bridgeport, Ct in the 1980s when my brother was the chaffuer of that snorkel rig (Truck 5).
 
I'm not sure if it's still in service, or if their other Rescues have similiar rigs, but here's a picture of Memphis, TN's Rescue 2 E-One Snorkel, similar to CFD's Squads:

MemphisTNR2.jpg
 
No, the FDNY never had snorkles as front line apparatus.

They may have "experimented" with them or witnessed a demonstration, but never bought one.

The original Mack Tower Ladders were purchased in the early 1960s and proved themselves to be an outstanding piece of equipment.
 
As best as I remember, FDNY considered snorkels and thought them to be: safety concern for FF if basket got hung up (poor ability to climb down); slower;  clumsy to maneuver. Tower ladders appeared to be more robust and were immediately successful and well liked when tested and used.  They also did not want to have a mixed system of tower ladders and snorkels along with regular ladder companies.
 
engine269 said:
No, the FDNY never had snorkles as front line apparatus.

They may have "experimented" with them or witnessed a demonstration, but never bought one.

The original Mack Tower Ladders were purchased in the early 1960s and proved themselves to be an outstanding piece of equipment.
Click to expand...

  Somebody within the FDNY once told me that if there was one piece of equipment that saved the city during the War Years, it was the Tower Ladders. I have to agree with that. With fully involved 5 or 6 bricks, they were able to sweep across several window openings from floor to floor. And in the case of the row wood frames in sections like Bushwick, a properly placed Tower Ladder could sweep almost the entire front of that row frame block. From what I saw, it was a piece of equipment that was able to knock down a lot of fire in a short period of time, and without the need to drag numerous hoselines.

  And Thanks "mack" on that info regarding the FDNY and trial of Snorkels. I always wondered if FDNY had ever thought about trying a few out, espically with the City of Chicago having such good luck with them. My first issue of WNYF Magazine, I think it was the Third of 1968, talked about the new first Tower Ladder for the FDNY.
 
New York City tested a Snorkel in 1959. It was a Pittman Snorkel on a Ford chassis.
I saw it myself, and I found a picture of the test on e-bay. :)
 
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