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Emergency! (TV show) LA County Fire Engine 51 2023 06
This is the cab interior of the 1965 Crown Firecoach used in the first season of the television series, Emergency! I believe the pump is rated at 1,250 gallons per minute at draft. Power for the pump, and to move this heavy pile of steel down the road, was developed by a Hall-Scott 6-cylinder gasoline engine. Gossip about a rebuilt Hall-Scott six in a different 1949 fire engine claimed it reached 1,000 cubic inches (16.3 liters) after having the cylinders bored. I believe this would've come from the Hall-Scott factory with about 850 cubic inches (14 liters). Hall-Scott enthusiasts should say whether this is correct or otherwise by posting a comment. The choke control confirms it has not been re-powered with a diesel.
Many heavy trucks have mindbendingly loud buzzers to warn the driver when the vehicle has no oil pressure. My guess is the red light above the toggle switches lights for low oil pressure. (It should be labeled, shouldn't it?) Note the dual starters and dual ignition. Before diesels, this was common. I've heard it was tough for a novice mechanic to get both distributors synchronized.
This looks like a good user interface. I've never driven or pumped a Crown. In 1965, these were designed to be driven by someone wearing turnout or bunker boots. That's why the throttle and brake pedals have large, flat surface areas. I always liked how the switches for everything on school buses and Firecoaches were in a row within easy reach of the driver. In service, the long bat handles on the toggle switches were probably attached to the warning light switches. This allowed the operator to flip all of the emergency lights on without hunting for them.
I believe the blue air valve is for the emergency air system. These were popular in the 1960s. Trucks with air brake systems rely on air pressure to stop the vehicle. Consequently, they have large, 60-pound springs on the rear axle. The vehicle can't move unless there is 60 pounds of air pressure in the system, the minimum to move safely. Under 60 pounds, the rear brakes are locked. If the engine had been sitting for a week, the air system may have zero pressure. While your CPR patient waits, you have to sit and watch the air pressure pump up. Hit the blue valve with your palm and air from a backup tank quickly charges the system. You're almost instantly on your way to the call. There was also a time when "quick buildup" air compressors were used to prevent this. Newer air systems have very low leak rates and don't need the extra hardware.
This has a Federal Interceptor electronic siren although the foley for the TV show used the sound of a mechanical siren. There's a classic open-cab feature out of view at the top of the windshield: windshield wipers. Because rain could and did get into the cab, there's a second set of wipers on the inside of the windshield. This has air-operated wipers. A spring pulls them one way and air pressure the other. They make a spitting sound when the air is drained out at one end of travel. Imagine wet steering wheel, wet pedals, wet hands.
The shift pattern is missing but you could probably figure it out by fondling the shift. I was told this has a five-speed, square-tooth transmission. Los Angeles is mostly, but not entirely, flat ground. First gear is "compound low" for crawling up steep grades. At a traffic signal, you shift into second to start out. When the engine makes a certain sound, it's telling you to shift. Push the clutch to the floor, pull the shift out of gear, release the clutch. Press the clutch to the floor again, push or pull the shift into the desired gear (gate), then let the clutch out.
There are dual radios. The bottom is a custom built, eight channel VHF General Electric MASTR Professional. It looks like this had channels for responding into City of Los Angeles, Angeles National Forest, and the statewide OES Fire net. The top is a UHF Motorola Micor (470-512 MHz) which I believe was used for Los Angeles County Fire's system. There should be a third microphone somewhere. There's one for each radio and one for the siren.
The cab floor is steel diamond plate. Newer vehicles use aluminum diamond plate.
…all these people who are anti-government depend on the government when something happens. Fires, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes and tornadoes: I need you government but I don't want you the rest of the time.
— Errol Southers Ph.D.
Journalism grade images.
Source: 4200x2800 16-bit TIF file.
Please do not copy this image for any purpose.
Emergency! (TV show) LA County Fire Engine 51 2023 06
This is the cab interior of the 1965 Crown Firecoach used in the first season of the television series, Emergency! I believe the pump is rated at 1,250 gallons per minute at draft. Power for the pump, and to move this heavy pile of steel down the road, was developed by a Hall-Scott 6-cylinder gasoline engine. Gossip about a rebuilt Hall-Scott six in a different 1949 fire engine claimed it reached 1,000 cubic inches (16.3 liters) after having the cylinders bored. I believe this would've come from the Hall-Scott factory with about 850 cubic inches (14 liters). Hall-Scott enthusiasts should say whether this is correct or otherwise by posting a comment. The choke control confirms it has not been re-powered with a diesel.
Many heavy trucks have mindbendingly loud buzzers to warn the driver when the vehicle has no oil pressure. My guess is the red light above the toggle switches lights for low oil pressure. (It should be labeled, shouldn't it?) Note the dual starters and dual ignition. Before diesels, this was common. I've heard it was tough for a novice mechanic to get both distributors synchronized.
This looks like a good user interface. I've never driven or pumped a Crown. In 1965, these were designed to be driven by someone wearing turnout or bunker boots. That's why the throttle and brake pedals have large, flat surface areas. I always liked how the switches for everything on school buses and Firecoaches were in a row within easy reach of the driver. In service, the long bat handles on the toggle switches were probably attached to the warning light switches. This allowed the operator to flip all of the emergency lights on without hunting for them.
I believe the blue air valve is for the emergency air system. These were popular in the 1960s. Trucks with air brake systems rely on air pressure to stop the vehicle. Consequently, they have large, 60-pound springs on the rear axle. The vehicle can't move unless there is 60 pounds of air pressure in the system, the minimum to move safely. Under 60 pounds, the rear brakes are locked. If the engine had been sitting for a week, the air system may have zero pressure. While your CPR patient waits, you have to sit and watch the air pressure pump up. Hit the blue valve with your palm and air from a backup tank quickly charges the system. You're almost instantly on your way to the call. There was also a time when "quick buildup" air compressors were used to prevent this. Newer air systems have very low leak rates and don't need the extra hardware.
This has a Federal Interceptor electronic siren although the foley for the TV show used the sound of a mechanical siren. There's a classic open-cab feature out of view at the top of the windshield: windshield wipers. Because rain could and did get into the cab, there's a second set of wipers on the inside of the windshield. This has air-operated wipers. A spring pulls them one way and air pressure the other. They make a spitting sound when the air is drained out at one end of travel. Imagine wet steering wheel, wet pedals, wet hands.
The shift pattern is missing but you could probably figure it out by fondling the shift. I was told this has a five-speed, square-tooth transmission. Los Angeles is mostly, but not entirely, flat ground. First gear is "compound low" for crawling up steep grades. At a traffic signal, you shift into second to start out. When the engine makes a certain sound, it's telling you to shift. Push the clutch to the floor, pull the shift out of gear, release the clutch. Press the clutch to the floor again, push or pull the shift into the desired gear (gate), then let the clutch out.
There are dual radios. The bottom is a custom built, eight channel VHF General Electric MASTR Professional. It looks like this had channels for responding into City of Los Angeles, Angeles National Forest, and the statewide OES Fire net. The top is a UHF Motorola Micor (470-512 MHz) which I believe was used for Los Angeles County Fire's system. There should be a third microphone somewhere. There's one for each radio and one for the siren.
The cab floor is steel diamond plate. Newer vehicles use aluminum diamond plate.
…all these people who are anti-government depend on the government when something happens. Fires, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes and tornadoes: I need you government but I don't want you the rest of the time.
— Errol Southers Ph.D.
Journalism grade images.
Source: 4200x2800 16-bit TIF file.
Please do not copy this image for any purpose.