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Bridgeview Fire Department history

This from Mike Summa:

TBT  This was Bridgeview’s E15, a 1970 Pierce/Oshkosh 1500/500.  Enjoy and comment.

Bridgeview FD E15, a 1970 Pierce/Oshkosh 1500/500. Mike Summa photo

Tags: Bridgeview Fire Department history, Mike Summa, vintage fire truck photo

This entry was posted on July 13, 2017, 8:46 PM and is filed under Fire Department History, Historic fire apparatus. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

4 Comments

• #1 by CrabbyMilton on July 14, 2017 - 7:45 AM

  

  You mention the loud DETROIT DIESEL. I remember one of two 1963 SEAGRAVE ladders that MFD had repowered with DETROIT engines. I could always tell from many blocks away that this thing was coming and they almost didn’t need a siren or air horns. They served well into the 1980’s.
  Contrast that to rigs these days that the engines are almost whisper quiet and are much more powerful.

• #2 by CrabbyMilton on July 14, 2017 - 5:49 AM

  

  Looks good. Ironic that OSHKOSH would acquire PIERCE decades later.

• #3 by Mike Summa on July 13, 2017 - 10:10 PM

  

  Picture was taken in the late 70’s at a parade in Burbank.

• #4 by Keith Grzadziel on July 13, 2017 - 9:35 PM

  

  Thanks for sharing Mike! Do you remember where and when this photo was taken? Lyons had a similar, but shorter bodied pumper with the engineer’s panel on the curbside. From what I was told years back from our original full-timers, who are long retired now, this chassis was actually destined to have a snorkel mounted on it, possibly for Chicago. It had a 5 speed manual transmission and a super loud Detroit diesel motor, which you could hear coming blocks away. The booster reel was originally mounted inside the driver’s side rear compartment and was moved up top when the engine was given a “light” refurb in-house. Engine 415 was sold by my department in 1987 to Belgium, Wisconsin when the KME/Darley was puchased. It was refurbed again and painted solid white as Engine 763. We lost track what happened to it after Belguim sold it.

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