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Truckwork or Hosework?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tony P on
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I'm a firefighter. A particular task needs to be performed, we do it.
As Vic said earlier, we don't have 'trucks' here.
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Permalink Reply by Vic Silverfish on
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Legend has it that the great Chicago fire of 1870-something started when Mrs. O'Leary left a lantern in the barn and a cow kicked it over. As it turns out this is completely untrue, but what are you going to do?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_O%27Leary
It's kind of obscure, so I would not expect anyone outside of the US to have heard of it.
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Permalink Reply by Just Plain Craig Moyer on
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Dang Chief,...that young whipper snapper called you old.....but very nicely...
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Permalink Reply by WestPhilly on
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Dean:
I checked your resume. I saw a bunch of suburban departments listed and that you "ran with" CFD from '97 to '99. Is that what you mean by "Chicago was 90% of my fire service time."?
For what it's worth, ladder guys in Philly are generally bigger than engine guys.
DCFD guys are some of the worst in the nation? Huh?
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Permalink Reply by capcityff on
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I saw that as well after I replied. He's not/never was a Chicago fireman. Kind of expected that since I know a real Chicago fireman would not talk like that. I know plenty of them and they respect the DCFD just as much as we respect the CFD.
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Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on
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LOL VIC ... ah yes... Wikipedia...
keeper of all knowledge - that I wrote myself this morning ;-)
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The Great Chicago Fire of 1871
Did Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow Cause This Devastating Blaze?
Written on Mar 16, 2010 by Maureen K. Fleury
The Great Chicago Fire raged from Sunday, October 8th to Tuesday, October 10th, 1871. Hundreds of people were killed and four square miles of downtown Chicago destroyed.
At approximately 9:00 pm on October 8th, 1871, fire broke out in Chicago in the vicinity of the O’Leary Home on the west side of the city. The O’Leary’s ran a dairy business and kept their cows in a barn on their property on DeKoven Street. The fire department was not notified until 9:40 pm. By the time the fire department arrived at 10:30 pm, the fire was out of control.
Destruction Caused by the Great Chicago Fire
Strong winds from the southwest pushed the fire though the west side. Wooden houses and sidewalks were tinder dry and further escalated the spreading of flames. The fire managed to cross the south arm of the Chicago River due to the ignition of lumberyards, warehouses and ships along the shoreline. In addition, oil and grease had spilled in the river. It looked like the river was on fire. The blaze continued into the heart of Chicago.
Once across the Chicago River, the fire struck the corner of Jackson and Franklin Street. Flames jumped to the South Side Gas Works and this caused a major explosion which escalated the already out of control fire. The blaze traveled along the commercial district on LaSalle Street, destroying all buildings in its path.
With flames and sparks shooting across the sky, several fires broke out in different parts of downtown Chicago. Fires raged along Franklin, Market and Wells Streets. Three downtown hotels were reduced to a small pile of charred wood, along with the Chicago Tribune building and department stores such as Marshall Fields.
Frightened residents didn’t have many evacuation routes and many ended up jumping in the river, thinking they would be safe in the water. They were not protected due to the river filled with burning debris and fiery oil and grease spills.
The fire continued to burn out of control throughout Monday and hit buildings along Washington, Randolph and Clark Streets. When the courthouse burned down, many prisoners escaped but some were escorted in shackles.
Fire destroyed the pumps at the Waterworks on Pine Street but the Water Tower remained standing because it was built out of stone. The State Street Bridge caught fire and the flames spread to the north side of the river where many luxurious homes were destroyed on Dearborn, Rush, Cass, Huron and Ontario Streets.
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By Tuesday, October 10th, the fires died down after heavy rains hit Chicago.
According to the Disasters and Accidents archive of the Chicago Tribune. “The fire killed some 300 people, left 100,000 homeless and destroyed most of the city 18,000 structures, including theaters, hotels, banks, newspaper offices and public buildings. The O'Leary house itself, in front of the barn, was virtually unscathed.”
In the article “The Great Chicago Fire: The Greatest Disaster our City has Ever Seen” written by Troy Taylor and published at Prairie Ghosts, he stated “Over $200 million in property had been destroyed. Records, deeds, archives, libraries and priceless artwork were all lost although a little of it had survived in public and private vaults. In the destruction of the Federal Building, which housed the post office, more than $100,000 in currency was burned.”
Causes of the Great Chicago Fire
According to legend, Mrs. O’Leary was milking a cow in the barn behind her house. The cow allegedly kicked over a kerosene lantern and it ignited the hay that spread out on the floor.
The Chicago Tribune provided a different explanation. “The fabled kicking over of a kerosene lamp by Mrs. O'Leary's cow has been widely discounted as the cause of the fire. Instead, the cause is seen to have been the city's eagerness to grow faster than any place in history.”
Most buildings were made out of wood and the same with sidewalks. Brick structures were trimmed with wood and had wooden roofs. Chicago was in a building boom and wood was the cheapest material and quickest method for meeting the demand for housing and commercial buildings.
Three months prior to the fire, there had been very little rain. Less than three inches of rain had fallen in the Chicago area during this time period. The autumn had been warm and windy. Drought conditions made all wooden structures tinder dry.
The fire that broke out on the O’Leary property was not the first fire in the city. A large fire had broken out the previous day. Firemen managed to extinguish the blaze but were slow to respond to the fire at the O’Leary property because they were exhausted from battling the fire the previous day.
Firemen had to use horse-drawn carriages to fight fires that were equipped with inefficient pumps. This made it very easy for a fire to burn out of control.
In addition, the fire alarm was not immediately activated. By the time firemen arrived on the scene, the fire was already out of control. Strong winds caused the burning embers to jump from building to building. The heat generated by the fire created more wind and escalated the progression of the fire.
The possible causes were carelessness with matches or cigarettes or lanterns combined with drought conditions.
Sources:
"The Great Chicago Fire (1871)". Disasters and Accidents Archive. Chicago Tribune.
Taylor, Troy. "The Great Chicago Fire: The Greatest Disaster our City has Ever Seen". Prairie Ghosts. 2000
Read more at Suite101: The Great Chicago Fire of 1871: Did Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow Cause This Devastating Blaze? http://www.suite101.com/content/the-great-chicago-fire-of-1871-a214...
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Permalink Reply by EngineLadder on
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In Bmore guys on trucks are usually bigger too.
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Wiki is good enough for anything informal. I've seen a couple of boo-boos, and am still worried that the stuff I've written there is incorrect, but for the most part it has not let me down.
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CRAIG ! Why are you trying to get me in more trouble...?
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hosework - ask a girl... she'll explain it to you 55
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A particular task needs to be performed, we do it.
Mate, I think that sentence pretty much sums up the entire job.
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