raybrag said:
Willy:
That Bridgeport "snorkel" wasn't a Snorkel at all . . . it was a High Ranger articulating platform with a boom that took up a lot more space than the Pittman Snorkels did. Pittman allowed High Ranger to use the term "snorkel" on their products, though. Photo here by Glenn Duda.
"raybrag" yes that's the rig. Thanks for posting the picture.
"3511", in regards to my brother George operating that rig, he would tell me how diffucult it was to operate when setting up. Always had to be aware of the boom hitting poles, trees, wires etc. Not only keep an eye on the bucket, but also where it bends as it swung around. I know he also said the bucket used to "drift" with members operating in it.
This was in the mid to late 70s. During the height of the FDNY War Years and the FDNY was having great success with their Tower Ladders. Him and I would buff the FDNY together, so he knew the pros and cons of each. He would always say to me, "Why didn't Bridgeport buy a Tower Ladder like NY".
When that rig was in service, Bridgeport had it's own set of War Years going on, and most of those years, it was the busiest truck company in the city. That rig worked and put out a lot of fires. He operated it and I saw it operate. We both feel that the FDNY Tower Ladders were just a better type rig for city firefighting.
I'm sure Chicago does very well using the snorkels. I've never seen them operate, so my opinion doesn't really count. It is only based on one rig that reminded some of us of a "Big Lime Green Crab" going down the street.