Where's the fire

 Well there wasn't one, but if there had been they certainly had the apparatus to put it down. A gathering of firetrucks at the Cunard Centre / Pier 23 on July 6 attracted my attention.

The first one I noticed was this Pierce with a "Chicago" style black roof:

 Nearby was this Fort Garry  on a Freightliner commercial chassis:

The next one in line for a photo was a Fort Garry / Spartan demo unit on the company's 100th anniversary tour:

To cap off the display was this impressive Sutphen centre-mount aerial:

Once rare in Canada, Sutphen, from Columbus, OH, is now exclusively represented in Canada by Fort Garry Fire Trucks from Winnipeg.

There were some other vehicles around but I didn't have time to get specs or look beyond the big stuff, except for Federal Signal's demo truck:

 

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Western Shore VFD

Novas Scotia's extensive and well organized fire service - particularly its mutual aid system- was called upon again in this week. This time it was a major structure fire in Lunenburg which was attended by 16 departments. Many others provided coverage where units had been dispatched to Lunenburg, so the numbers of VFDs effected by the fire could reach in to the dozens.

A fire near Liverpool in 2011 was typical of the response to a major incident, and an excellent write up describes how mutual aid worked:
http://www.firefightingincanada.com/content/view/10641/213/

Among the fire districts in Nova Scotia is the Municipal District of Chester, which comprises seven volunteer departments described on their excellent web site:
http://www.chesterfire.ca/

One of the department is located in Western Shore, and two of their apparatus were outside on Saturday while the hall was in use for a public event run.

 1. This 1995 Chev with Lantz body is Rescue 721 and carries 6 SCBA, and extrication gear and is a first responder to MVAs and Medical calls.

 

2. Pumper Tanker 721 is a 2007 Navistar International 7600 with Fort Garry body. It has a 2500 gallon tank, 1250 igpm pump, 1400 ft of 5 inch and 1000 ft of 3 inch hose and foam.

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Roll out at Station 4

There was a roll out at Station 4 today as firefighters carried out some maintenance in the engine bays.
Station 4 has one engine company based there and its two other bays host a rotating selection of apparatus.
Spartan Metro Star/ Carl Thibault 11-530E is one of the newest engines in the Halifax Regional Municipality Fire + Emergency Service, part of the large order from 2011 and delivered in 2012. It is a rescue pumper, with a 1250 gpm pump and 500 gal booster tank.

The other two units seen today are amongst the oldest serviceable pieces of HRM apparatus, and all are in spare status. Engine 92-76E is a Spartan/Fort Garry, 1050 gpm pump / 600 gal booster. It has a rear access cab, and centre mounted controls.

Third visitor is Spare Quint, Emergency-One, 90-57Q. It has a 1050 gpm pump and 500 gal booster along with the 75 foot aerial ladder.

Next week there may be another selection of interesting units.

Station 4 is located on Duffus Street, and serves the far north-end of the Halifax peninsula.

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CFB Halifax Fire Apparatus

Canadian Forces Base Halifax is a large military operation in the Halifax area. It consists of three separate, large properties and several smaller installations. In at least three of these locations they have their own fire departments consisting of engines, rescues, an aerial and crash trucks.
They also have some form of mutual aid in which apparatus from one location travels through city streets to reach other locations.
I don't have photos of all their apparatus by any means, but during the past summer I have been able to see several pieces, and two retired engines.

1. The naval base, HMC Dockyard, has a full scale fire service, seen here on a practice session in July. The E-One aerial is blocked by the others, so no photo was possible.

2. This Sterling-Fort Garry rescue is based in the Dockyard. It entered service in 2012.

3. Spartan-Fort Garry engine also serves the Dockyard. I believe it was new in 2011.

4. On the other side of the harbour CFB Shearwater is an air base, with a large housing area. Another new Sterling-Fort Garry rescue is based there, along with other apparatus.

5. Also at Shearwater, a number of surplus military vehicles are in storage awaiting disposal. This Spartan-Thibault was once based at HMC Dockyard.

6. Another view of the same engine.

6. A second Spartan-Thibault is also in storage awaiting sale.

Other installations in Halifax are the Bedford Magazine, an ammuniton storage depot, which has its own fire apparatus and Windsor Park, where all military vehicles are maintained. The latter is served from HMC Dockyard.

Follow Up to Fort Garry Sterlings

As a follow up to my posting of July 18, the second of two Fort Garry hazmat command units, built on Sterling AWD chassis, arrived in Halifax during August. Here the two are together at the dealer's (Lockhart's) in Burnside, September 7. They will be assigned to Canadian Forces Base Halifax as Hazmat 4 and Hazmat 12.

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Fort Garry delivers two to CFB Halifax

Fort Garry Fire Trucks of Winnipeg delivered two Hazmat Command Units to Canadian Forces Base Halifax on March 20, 2011. They are numbered 4 and 12. The latter unit appears on FG's web site under recent deliveries: http://www.fgft.com/?section=11&page=&id=467

Unit#4 is shown above from the drivers side, at Lockhart's today. It appears completely unused, with builders delivery plastic covers on some of the components. Delivery was no doubt timed to come in before the end of the fiscal year 2010-2011.

Built on 2008 Sterling Acterra 4x4 chassis, they are fitted with 14 foot aluminum (salt water grade) bodies, and look like they would go just about anywhere.

Since Sterling production stopped in 2010, these units were obviously from stock somewhere. There are still quantities of new/unused Sterlings around, so it may take some time before they are all on the road.

Not willing to remove the Sterling identity completely, Fort Garry nevertheless partly concealed the name on the front grill with warning lights, resulting in an "ERLI" - I wonder how long that will last before someone removes all the letters?