VINTAGE FDNY RIG PHOTOS.

^^^^^^.
"FIRST DUE" by Al DONCHIN....ONE OF THE BEST WILLIAMSBURG/BED STUY BKLYN WAR YEARS PICTORIAL BOOKS.... ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY AL DONCHIN RIP... AN FDNY FRIEND & SUPPORTER & GENTLEMAN (ALSO A NYC SANITATION STAFF CHIEF )... AL TOOK HIS PICTURES FOR HIS INTEREST IN THE FDNY & THREW HIS PROFIT'S ( FROM MANY PHOTOS THAT NEWSPAPERS USED) ON THE KITCHEN TABLE AT ENG*230/SQ*3 WHERE HE HUNG OUT & RODE BACK THEN CONSTANTLY....AS A SIDE NOTE FOR ANYONE WHO HAS SEEN THE BOOK..FOR EVERY PICTURE IN IT AL HAD ANOTHER SEVERAL FOR EACH SEQUENCE THAT BACK IN THE DAY WERE CATALOGUED IN BINDERS ON A SHELF IN THE KITCHEN OF ENG*230/SQ*3. .....Al lived off Eastern Parkway a few blocks away from 234/123...he has since Passed To A Higher Level.

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There's one available on Amazon for only $2995.00 for anyone who has an unlimited budget.
 
OLD SPARE MACK RESCUE RIG .... View attachment 50757

Great memories when I see this rig.
My first experience riding with the FDNY way back in the summer of 1968 with the late Lt Richard Hamilton.
The guy that made it all possible for me was Engine 210 chaffer Tony Tadduni (spelling - ?), aka "Tad".
My younger brother was also invited to ride that summer of '68.
After that we were both "hooked on the FDNY" and spent the next 50 years or so buffing it.
THANK YOU to all of the FDNY members I met along the way
 
ENG*256 (disbanded)...1938 AHRENS FOX ......

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The 38 AHRENS FOX was my first memory of a fire truck. I was maybe 5 or 6 around 1950 or 1951, when my father took me to E 304 to get a hair cut. He worked in the truck but one of the guys gave hair cuts in a barber chair in the basement.
I remember how big the rig looked as I was just about the same height as the tire, the big chrome ball on the pump and how big the steering wheel was when I looked in the cab.

The chauffeur Bill Moeclare, whose son became a firefighter in R1 later on, would always let me in the cab when they backed into quarters after a run. What a thrill for a little kid. I also remember the cord for the bell on the officers side ran through a hole just in front of the door.
Great picture Jack, thanks for posting all of the old rigs, for old guys like me
 
The 38 AHRENS FOX was my first memory of a fire truck. I was maybe 5 or 6 around 1950 or 1951, when my father took me to E 304 to get a hair cut. He worked in the truck but one of the guys gave hair cuts in a barber chair in the basement.
I remember how big the rig looked as I was just about the same height as the tire, the big chrome ball on the pump and how big the steering wheel was when I looked in the cab.

The chauffeur Bill Moeclare, whose son became a firefighter in R1 later on, would always let me in the cab when they backed into quarters after a run. What a thrill for a little kid. I also remember the cord for the bell on the officers side ran through a hole just in front of the door.
Great picture Jack, thanks for posting all of the old rigs, for old guys like me
Bill Moeclare's son was a firefighter in 132 before he transferred to R-1. A good guy, he later attended Nursing School at Bellevue prior to his retirement.
 
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