The Rescue Truck

KFD Engine 5 was different.

The paint job was your first clue; this truck was painted white, with red trim. That word, RESCUE, on the door was another clue. 5 was a traditional pumper in most ways, but it was equipped to handle auto accidents and other unusual situations; this included carrying the sorts of paramedic supplies which modern fire departments put into ambulances. Of course, in the '50s there were no true paramedics on the Kalamazoo Fire Department.

This is my favorite of Dad's Martin Sernstinger photographs. It shows engine 5 in some sort of training exercise, pumping water out of a pond--and right back into the pond. Marty obviously enlisted the department's hook and ladder to make a high perch.

The snow's a neat touch, too. Eventually you're going to need to fight a fire in a blizzard....