The Good Old Days

[1261Truckie]

Shortly after Dennis Smith's article came out in "TRUE" magazine 132 was operating in Brownsville, Brooklyn (as the third section of 120). It was a hot Friday summer night (in August), the 15th of the month and a full moon (a War Years Trifeca).
One of our guys came out of the building and announced to all "My barber's gonna hate me, with all these burns and scar tissue on the back of my neck". This of course a take-off on one of Dennis' stories in the article. We all laughed, but there was a Daily News "roving reporter" hanging around and he came over the the guy and wanted to interview him.
There were a few laughs as our guy said he really wasn't burned but just poking fun at the Bronx but that the reporter should be aware of the fire problem. That particular evening there were 4 or 5 all-hands going on about the same time and this was considered a average night out here.
The reporter did write an article about his night in Brownsville a couple weeks later. He did not mention the fireman with the "burned neck" but did write about the increasing fire problem. I guess we all knew about it but as history showed no one cared. Just another Friday night in the FDNY

 

[1261Truckie]

I had another story to share, hope you all don't mind.
It was about 2:30 or 3:00 AM one night/morning and 132 was babysitting a water leak. It was going to be an extended operation.
NOTE: This was around the time when if Philadelphia had a multiple alarm, their radio would blow Brooklyn's radio off the air. It was not unusual to hear for example Philly call for their Engine 108 to respond to their multiple and have our Ladder 108 get on the air and say "where do you want us to go?"
Anyway our chauffeur at one point says "you want to have some fun?" and he picks up the radio and says "Chemical Unit 2 to Brooklyn" FYI - Chemical Unit 2 was a Philadelphia unit. The dispatcher replies "What unit to Brooklyn?" The chauffeur says "Chemical Unit 2 to Brooklyn" The dispatcher gets back on the air and says again "What unit to Brooklyn?", to which our guy replies "Chemical Unit 2 to Brooklyn". The dispatcher proceeds to tell us, and all who were listening, that there was no Chemical Unit 2 in the FDNY and this unit should get off the air immediately. This was followed by "Chemical Unit 2 to Brooklyn" from our chauffeur. The dispatcher really got annoyed this time and told all units to stand by while he conducted a roll call of all the units who were out at this time. When he got to us, the chauffeur handed me the radio and I replied that we were still at the assigned water leak. He, of course, completed his roll call and never heard the offending voice.
Our chauffeur waited about two minutes and then transmitted "Chemical Unit 2 to Brooklyn, Chemical Unit 2 is off the air" and that was the end of our "high jinks" for the night. I never heard anyone else play around like that and wonder if the dispatchers ever had anything similar.
Those were the days

 

[memory master]

One day in the early 60's, just after E296 was disbanded, the Queens dispatcher was "calling the roll of units on AFID." I suppose their sheet was outdated and he called E296. A very low and muffled voice said "296,10-4." There was a very brief radio silence and the dispatcher, with a laugh in his voice, continued his roll call.

 

[nfd2004]

I do remember when Brooklyn and Philadelphia shared the same frequency (154.37 mhz). Also sharing that frequency was Providence, R.I.

  One busy Fourth of July, it was my year to buff the busy Fourth of July in Providence. I would rotate which place I would buff each year between the FDNY and Providence. This particular year, it was Providence, and they would get their share of work there too.

  On this night it just happened to be a night when "the skip" was very good. By that I mean it hassomething to do with the atmosphere and radio signals will travel very far. That night, we not only picked up Providence on our scanners, but also Brooklyn and Philly. What a night that was.