It was a day i should have had a camera with me. First the local millionare had his mig 23 repainted and was showing it off. Nothing more humorus than a c-130 waiting for a russian mig(with full red stars) to take off ahead of it. LOL
I had commented on earlier in the day on a post about the new firetrucks at the bagdad airport, laughing that i hoped they lasted long. Me an my big mouth. At 5 pm we got called out for a massive fire at a salvage yard. THe hose lines were just holding it off. My little truck could ge tin there and with my big gun and foam it really knocked it back. we rarly ge tot train with the foam since it costs so much. One picture shows what AFFF foam did to a pile of cars fully involved.
In the end i got dinged inthe head by some flying debries form a gas tank explosion, and the truck got a little singed and a nice welt in the side from another piece of flying debri. SO the next time you ar eout looking at the airplanes at a show, check out the firetrucks there also. THey are really just as interesting as the planes. In the first picture youcan see the head of my truck in the fire. Mine is the yellow one. LOL Bill
What started the fire? When I was a reporter on the cop/fire beat, I had nothing, but nothing but respect for those guys, long before 9/11 woke up America to just what these guys in suspenders and rubber suits are really made of. And I remember how hard they used to take it when they couldn’t save someone. I remember how hard they took it when they couldn’t save a KITTEN! As well as the joy everyone felt when they did. Cops see their share of carnage and human misery. So do reporters. But the sorrow and grief and the pain of seeing human suffering a fireman has to fight off in one day is more than most people have to deal with in an entire lifetime.
I know this is way off the topic of our site, but having spent so much time with firemen doing their job, this subject always gets me going. When I hear some civilian make a comment like, “Took 'em long enough to get here,” I want to put my hands around their throat and…[:(!]
Gotta agree with Sharky…More than once in my career in Naval Aviation as a combat
aircrew member I was comforted by the sight of big MB-1 Crashtrucks and ambulances
parked at every access to the runway as we were coming down the approach path in a broken airplane and seeing them pulling onto the runway and following us so they would be right there if we needed them…Guys in the “tinfoil” suits manning the foam turrets and hanging all over the trucks ready to wade into the fire to pull us out if necessary. Luckily, we always managed to say “No further services required…Thanks for the help”
Ray
Gee , thanks guys , I used to drive an MBi in Suda Bay, Crete and thought you never cared.
My hat, is off to you Bill. My father was an USaF fire cheif and I was assigned to the NavaL crash crew in Crete .Not a good feeling wondering if you will come back after a big one or if you got all the crew out. When you are back from a run and find out that all is well you feel on top of the world.
You are right about the trucks they are interesting when you get around them.
Keep up the great work,more people should be in your shoes and see that it is not all card games and eating. A lot of hard training goes into firefight.
Many Kodoes to you. God bless.
Glen S
THanks for the nice things guys, it was even more fun since nobody really got hurt. There was suposed to be an auction today, and a fire started yesterday, i’m not a big bemiever in cowidences. LOL I have to get you all some pictures of that Mig, it looks great in a silver and blue paint scheme. SOme stats on my three trucks. P-23, 8 wheels, 3300 gallons of water, 500 gallons of foam, 500lbs of dry chem, two turrest, small one is 250 gpm, big one is switchable from 750gpm to 1500gpm. P-19A 130 gallons of foam, 1000 gallons of water, 500lbs of dry chem, 250 gpm bumper turret and a 750 gpm main turret.
THe amazing things about all these vechicals is that they are designed to be fought by one person. Every thing is right there for the driver to use. It was good they sent the smaller truck since the P-23 would have never fit. .
Tinfoil suits, or call us baked potatoes, it was sure good to realize just how well that stuff works. I was very comfortable the whole time. BIll
you are greatly appreciated and respected my friend!! my hats off to you and many more of your kind. very dangerous work. being in the navy, we did fire drills/training extensively, and i got rather clostophobic with all the gear on, plus being in those small spaces in intense heat. good job, and i hope your head gets better. later.
Same here… hats off to you… as Salty said firefighter training in boot camp was enough for me to tip my hat in respect. All the smoke, INTENSE heat (and these were controlled fires) etc…
On my second Med cruise a Marine loitering in the hanger bay while we were waiting to go on liberty, took a fancy to a large D ring hanging on a chain. Eventually curiousity got the best of him and he pulled it, and we had about 2 feet of foam covering the entire hanger deck in nothing flat. The had to cancel liberty for the night to clean it off… guess he couldn’t read the sign that said what the D ring was for… bad thing was there were about 3 CH-46’s in various stages of overhaul in the hanger, with the engine access hatches open… that kinda messed things up a little.
