American Aparatus Co. - Battle Creek, MI
$10,000 - New
| ||||
| Old Engine No.1 - 1948 Chevrolet American Aparatus Co. - Battle Creek, MI $10,000 - New |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Simon-Duplex chassis, Darley 2000gpm pump & compressed air foam (CAF) system. |
engineer's operating panel. |
drafting from Weidman, MI mill pond. |
& 1st 2nd Out Engine #11-6. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
1st Tender #11-4, 1st 2nd Out Engine #11-6, 1st Rescue 11-8, 2nd 1st Out Engine #11-3. |
1st Rescue #11-8 2nd 1st Out Engine #11-3. |
1st Tender #11-7. |
1st(last) Tender #11-2 1st Tender #11-4 1st Grass Rig #11-5. |
A Couple of Incidents in the Life of Old Engine 11-6
The
pictures
on this page are "thumbnails".
To
view
the same image in a larger format, click the thumbnail.
How to enlarge a garage door opening...
That engine was jinxed, for sure!
 |
 |
 |
|
it took on a stubborn tree. |
wasn't the end of the incident. |
comes to mind. |
The Demise of Engine 11-6
| This
incident occurred while engine 11-6 was pumping
water from a river into
a tender. Our other engine, 11-3, was
committed to a structure fire
of suspicious cause and origin. No one was in
the cab of old Engine
11-6 when "Murphy" (the devilish, mythical
entity that is often
associated with the proclaimation known as "Murphy's
Law" *)
decided to liven up the scene by causing the apparatus to shift from
"pump" to "road". The operator was standing on the ground
beside the pump panel when the transmission jumped into road gear with
the engine cranking out 1500 - 2000 rpm. The 5" suction and the
two 2.5" discharge hoses were ripped loose as the truck raced across
the road for the encounter with the tree. Shortly after impacting
the tree, the engine compartment became engulfed in flames that were
too well fueled to be extinguished by portable extinguishers. The
rest of our department was engaged in battling a house fire so
Deerfield Township FD was called extinguish the fire and take the place
of the ill fated Engine 11-6 at the drafting site.
Subsequent investigation revealed that a safety device that was supposed to keep the transfer in the "pump" mode had failed. Through more research it was discovered that the transfer manufacturer had issued a recall notice to the apparatus manufacturer warning of the possibility of a transfer lock failure. Unfortunately, the apparatus manufacturer had gone out of business and the recall notice was never forwarded to our department. Several good points can be made about that night. No one was injured, the arsonist was apprehended and we got a new engine compliments of the insurance company and our generous townships. |
|
"Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong!" More on Murphy's Law |
Click one of the lights below to view another page.
|
Index  |
Test |
Photos |
Photos |
Scenes |
History |
Scenes |
