1956 B-95 Mack formerly of Baldwin, LI, NY Fire Department

[paulromano]

In 1981, I was visiting the Baldwin Fire District on Long Island in search of a used ladder truck. My department had just received authorization to purchase our first aerial ladder and had a small budget for the purchase and refitting of a used aerial. Baldwin had advertised a 1956 American laFrance 75' 700 Series aerial as being for sale. During our visit, we were shown outstanding hospitality from the entire department and were given a tour of their four fire houses. At the station housing Hose 3 (a beautiful C-95 Mack) I noticed a dusty B-95 in a spare bay. My guide informed me that it was a spare, formerly Hose 4 and that the District was thinking of selling it. We ended up purchasing the laFrance aerial and came back to Baldwin to drive it home to Massachusetts (another story). While there, I got information about the sale of the spare B Model and later submitted a bid.

The spare pumper was a 1956 B-95 open cab pumper. It had features that were unique to Long Island Macks of the era. These features included: long wheelbase, upholstered seats over the hosebeds with a center aisle in the middle-the seats were for the crew to ride up top-all the company's turnout gear was attached to the triple equipment rails; air brakes; built in foam tank and system; preconnected 4 1/2" soft suctions mounted in compartments under the driver's and officer's doors, preconnected Morse 1100 gpm deck gun, and dual Federal Model 78 dual-tone sirens with oscillating and rotating lights. The truck came with a Mars light on the top of the windshield but that had been replaced by a Federal Model 17.

I was later informed that my bid was accepted and that we would have to make arrangemments to trailer the truck as it did not run too well. A borrowed gooseneck later, we were home with the truck. It did not run well and an investigation by a very experienced Mack mechanic revealed that the motor had been re-sleeved at some point and that one of the sleeves had worked loose, just about destroying the piston and the cyclinder bore. The bad motor was a 707-B.

As luck would have it, the nearby town of Marblehead was the proud owner of a 1962 Mack B-85 aerial ladder with 8000 original miles. Marblehead had decided to replace the aerial by transferring the Maxim stick onto a new Mack MC chassis. Because of the narrow and twisting streets in Marblehead, the turning radius and wheelbase were important considerations. I was lucky enough to purchase the cab and chassis at auction.

The Marblehead chassis had a 707C motor and air brakes. Long story short--my partner, Peter McGonnell and I spent a whole summer at Mel Clark's garage in Horth Hampton, NH removing the 707B and installing the 707C. We had foolishly thought that it would be an easy operation. It was the opposite. We were very lucky to have the surplus cab and chassis as many parts besides the motor had to be transferred into the Baldwin truck. The result was a great running truck!

Over the next 15 years, the Mack spend it's weekends going to musters and parades, carrying kids and even getting to perform some special tasks. One night was spent in Boston taking guests at the Birthday party of the President of Gamewell for rides through the Marlborough Street neighborhood with lights and siren. A high point was transporting the entire cheerleading squad for the New England Patriots in a parade.

As my life changed and I was able to use the truck much less than it deserved, I tried to find a proper home for it. I wrote the FASNY Museum at the Firemen's Home in Hudson, NY and offered them the truck as I felt it was such a unique piece of apparatus that it deserved to live out it's days at a place that would appreciate it. After not hearing back for quite a while, I tried to reach someone at the museum to plead my case, emphasizing the unique features of the Mack. The answer was that they already had a Mack (but it was not a Long Island Mack!!) and turned down the truck.

The truck has now found a new home with an owner that knew the truck when he lived near the Hose 4 station as a boy and had always hoped to someday find the truck and finally did.

The picture is from a muster in Lynnfield, MA.

Hope I didn't run on too long.

Edited August 25, 2012 by paulromano

[Green Dash]

Great story, complete with a happy ending. I lived in Westbury, Long Island until I was 8 and they also had a B model. I assume it was similar, if not identical, to the Baldwin truck, but it was too long ago for me to recall any details. All I remember is the open cab and the light mounted above the windshield.

[paulromano]

Addendum: At the time of our visit, the Baldwin Fire District was running the following: 3 Mack CF Pumpers, 1 Mack CF Aerialscope, 1 Mack C-95 pumper, 2 Spare Mack B-95 pumpers, 1 Ahrens-Fox HT pumper (still in service last I knew), 1 1956 American laFrance aerial (replaced by an American laFrance Water Chief, an Advanced heavy rescue on I think a GMC chassis, two ambulances and four chiefs cars. Their equipment was always kept in immaculate condition and their hospitality was second to none.

[Firemack]

Paul,

Great story and glad to see the truck found a good home!

Firemack