Jalopnik: Firefighters

Detroit Auto Show: Fallen Firefighters Memorial Rig

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:00:05 EST

Tucked into a corner of the basement is a 1937 Seagrave Safety Sedan, known amongst fire truck junkies as the Detroit Safety Sedan and it represents one of the more interesting untold stories here at Detroit. When a firefighter falls in the line of duty, there is a longstanding tradition of using a firetruck as the funeral hearse to honor the family and the deceased. The tradition of the final ride has become difficult, as fire trucks have grown in size and height. Seeing the problem, the Detroit Fireman's Fund Association decided to set out to do something about it.

The organization decided the best way to serve the duty and keep operational firetrucks ready for emergencies at the same time would be to set out to purchase and refurbish a classic pumper truck. Seagraves were the predecessor the the later dominant Mack offerings, but at the time the Detroit Fire Department owned about 80% of the Safety Sedans ever made. The example we see here was one of the early Seagraves in the DFD fleet of 87 total.The original chassis has been replaced with a modern one from Mack, and Chrysler was generous enough to contribute a new Detroit Diesel power plant. Nearly four years of labor and dedication have gone into getting the truck to this point and the craftsmanship is unbelieveable. We're sure when it's finished, the hours of hard work from countless volunteers will be well worth the effort. If you'd like to contribute the effort or just want to know a bit more, you can go directly the Detroit Firemens Fund website.

Firefighters Lift Car With Their Hoses

Ray Wert — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 10:00:00 EDT

Anyone see this yet at our gadget-obsessed brother site? Pretty funny — except it seems no one at Gizmodo was able to ID the car — I'm sure at least ~~one~~ all of us can probably tell them. [via Gizmodo]

Jaws of Life for Hybrids

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 01:55:02 EST

A few SEMA Shows ago, we had dinner at Don Miguel's in the Orleans Hotel with Bob DeVour, the guy who basically invented the Jaws of Life when he worked at Hurst. He was also responsible for driving Linda Vaughn around for a while. Man, what we wouldn't do to have been the Miss Golden Shifter chauffeur... Hurst has since been absorbed by Mr. Gasket and their safety products division is now owned by Hale Products. The latest generation of Jaws of Life tools address growing concerns about rescue workers having to hack through high-voltage hybrids and are fitted with insulated materials that actually visually react to the high voltage encountered in vehicles with hybrid drive systems. [Thanks to Chris for the tip.]

Hybrid Moments: Firefighters Train for Gas/Electric Rescues

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 05:39:17 EDT

While describing a car wreck in our high school yearbook, we once wrote, "Cars and trucks and things that go also stop. Sometimes with deadly results." Some of these cars are now hybrids, which require a different methodology for rescue workers attempting to extricate accident victims from vehicles with 200 to 280 volts of power coursing through cables that could be sheared in accidents.

Firefighters in Connecticut got together recently at a Toyota dealership to learn how to safely disable the electrical systems in the Japanese automaker's hybrid vehicles, which we're all for. After all, the lives of emergency personnel are hazardous enough, without having to worry about being fricaseed by an errant cut with the Jaws of Life.

Firefighters get lesson in hybrid cars [Danbury News Times]

Related:
BMW Joins Hybrid Partnership With DCX, GM [Internal]