VERY smart lady! Her electronic wizardry set the stage for modern cell phones. Unfortunately, she turned it over to the War Department (who didn't take full advantage of it), so she couldn't patent it. Oh wait!!! SHE's the forbearer of texting while driving...... BAD smart lady, BAD!!
For many years, the Los Angeles Fire Dept. ran two-piece engine companies in the high value areas, like Downtown L.A. and the Hollywood area. These rigs were on a run from Fire Station 27, located in Hollywood. The Hose Wagon is in front and the Pumper right behind. Both were built by American La France, in 1937. The LAFD used the same design for this 1937 Segrave Hose Wagon. The nine discharges on each side were for 2 1/2" lines only. That was the smallest hose these rigs carried. They were inside the crosslay compartments above the discharges. The Deck Gun was designed for a fireboat, and put out a stream strong enough to knock brick walls down. It carred no pump. The only hose in the rear of these Hose Wagons were the big inch Supply Lines from the pumper. They did have a very small water tank for the hose reel tank, 200 gallons, and I think they used air pressure instead of a pump. The engine guys have already pulled seven or eight or nine 2 1/2" lines from the discharges on the other side to take into the fire, and the water just filled the supply lines a moment ago. A few seconds from now, all the 2 1/2" lines are going to be flowing water Engine 17's pumper at rest. How do you keep enough water going to the Hose Wagon to keep nine 2 1/2" hoses flowing? Well, to get enough water for all those 2 1/2" lines, you either need more than one pumper, or one pumper with more than one pump, each one powered by it's own engine, American La France's V-12 engines, and 1500 GPM pumps, which together are pushing 3000 GPM to the Hose Wagon. The front engine drives the rig and also runs the front pump, and the V-12 in the back drives the rear pump. The front pump is sucking everything that hydrant has to offer, and another hydrant is keeping the rear pump busy. These two rigs alone were the equal of a "2nd Alarm" or more, when it came to water. If I remember, there were 5 or 6 of these special two-piece Engine Companies in the Dept. The LAFD came up with the design, shipped the drawings off to American La France and Segrave, and said "build 'em"...
The Jalopy Journal
