Playmobil City Fire Department District 1 Station 1

[Bill Blackhurst]

I think you are doing very well by your original  decision Bill, you just need more space!
Gepetto

I need alot more space.....mega space.....I could take down the pictures on the wall's ......oops, I'd better not 'cause I may not have any furniture either, WIFE----> !
                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

[Timotheos]

Are the very compact response cars (first picture) similar to real cars used in Germany?

-Tim

[Bill Blackhurst]

Are the very compact response cars (first picture) similar to real cars used in Germany?

-Tim

I have seen photos of what are called feuerwher SMART cars which the Playmobil sets #3177 seem to be modeled after.

[noodwachter72]

the (brandweer) firedepartment of Amsterdam has much smarts (small park space) especially for inspections in the city.

groet peter

[Tim_w]

Hello Bill,

Great stuff as allways ! I found it quite fascinating to read how everything fits in and how each station interacts with the others. I don't really understand the system you use in the USA fully but you explain it really well. I am currently working on a similar setup for my fire service based on UK practices. All told i have 5 stations covering 5 areas of varying size and risk. Each sector has a specific risk associated and appliances allocated to suit. One of the larger areas has a substantial chemical complex in its midst. As a result the local station has several specialised appliances including a FoT (Foam Tanker) and CIU (Chemical Incident Unit). I haven't made the CIU yet as i am stuck for suitable vehicles to carry the vast array of equipment . Our brigade HQ will be getting hold of a new appliance soon in the form of a TTL (Turn Table Ladder) or to use the US term a Tower Ladder. This is down to their being a large number of high rise structures in the area.
Anyway i digress but you can see the inspiration your posts have given me  . Keep up the good work Bill !

Tim

[Bill Blackhurst]

Hello Bill,

Great stuff as allways ! I found it quite fascinating to read how everything fits in and how each station interacts with the others. I don't really understand the system you use in the USA fully but you explain it really well. I am currently working on a similar setup for my fire service based on UK practices. All told i have 5 stations covering 5 areas of varying size and risk. Each sector has a specific risk associated and appliances allocated to suit. One of the larger areas has a substantial chemical complex in its midst. As a result the local station has several specialised appliances including a FoT (Foam Tanker) and CIU (Chemical Incident Unit). I haven't made the CIU yet as i am stuck for suitable vehicles to carry the vast array of equipment . Our brigade HQ will be getting hold of a new appliance soon in the form of a TTL (Turn Table Ladder) or to use the US term a Tower Ladder. This is down to their being a large number of high rise structures in the area.
Anyway i digress but you can see the inspiration your posts have given me  . Keep up the good work Bill !
Tim

Thank you Tim! I'm glad you approve! In the fire department I belonged to years ago, there was mutual aide agreements between all departments in my county. When there was a call in any department's area, There would be automatically 2 other different city departments dispatched also! It kept call volume up, & if the responsible dept. got on scene, & didn't need the other responding cities units they could return them to service. This system worked well because there wasn't so much equipment duplication between departments. If one city had a Ladder Tower, & another city had a well equipped rescue tender, & another had a water tanker or Haz Mat team, they knew they could rely on each others manpower, & equipment. Dispatch knew by the call assignment's, & situation which department's to send on different calls from other cities. Every department wasn't trying to have one of everything to cover their own area, & could concentrate on specializing in a certain piece of apparatus, & equipment, finding funding easier. The fire department I first got started with had a well equipped minipumper 4WD rescue truck that was stocked with every conceivable piece of rescue equipment. It ran on 3/4 of our counties vehicular rescue entrapment calls all in different cities. At that time we had the reputation of being one of the best, & we took pride in that fact  ! BTW, I can't wait to see your fire brigade photo's ! Do you have any straight ladder trucks or Tower Ladder Platforms now, or is this going to be your department's first?

Tim
[/quote]

[Tim_w]

Hello Bill,

Its starting to make sense now and i can see how it all fits in. Its a shame that this country takes a backward approach to its Fire and Rescue Service. The latest cost saving/environmentally friendly initiative by the West Midlands fire service (my local brigade) is to hold back the Major Rescue Unit (Rescue Truck) until a PRL (Pump Rescue Ladder) crew has assessed the situation and decides wether its required. As a rule the PDA (Pre Determined Attendance) would require the MRU to be dispatched to certain RTC's (Road Traffic Collision *we cant use the word accident anymore because apparently there is allways someone to blame*) or incidents wether it end's up being needed or not. Usually the PRL would get there first and send a message to controll who would turn the MRU back half way. It seems that this is no longer the case and the MRU will not leave the station until called in by the first crew on scene. As the MRU is a 'slower' appliance it is going to loose valuable time due to this crazy cost saving initiative, which is disguised in the crusade on saving the environment. Quite a step back from when we had appliances for every situation.
I am a bit rusty on this so if i make any mistakes i will get Gordon to correct me. The TTL (Turn Table Ladder) i am working on, which in theory is similar to one of your real life tower ladders is an old 'failed' custom attempt that is being reworked. The real life TTL is an older concept which has fallen out of favour due to the growing use of HP's (Hydraulic Platforms). Instead of having hydraulic booms with ladders up the side and a basket (HP) it has extending ladders and a basket (TTL) . Some of the 'proper' TTL's didn't have baskets at the end, just really long extending ladders. Unlike the US counterparts these vehicles are crewed by two fire fighters and carry a bare minimum of equipment.
My first attempt at one of these failed due to the impractical design of the 'ladder' mechanism, but the vehicle chassis as a whole was quite sturdy. I have managed to overcome the ladder problem with a complex hinge mechanism and some special parts from DS. If the weather picks up i will spray it tomorrow and it might be ready to unveil over the weekend. It will be assigned to my brigade HQ where it will be available for use throughout the brigade area.

Sorry for rambling on again...

Tim

[Bill Blackhurst]

Hello Bill,

Its starting to make sense now and i can see how it all fits in. Its a shame that this country takes a backward approach to its Fire and Rescue Service. The latest cost saving/environmentally friendly initiative by the West Midlands fire service (my local brigade) is to hold back the Major Rescue Unit (Rescue Truck) until a PRL (Pump Rescue Ladder) crew has assessed the situation and decides wether its required. As a rule the PDA (Pre Determined Assessment) would require the MRU to be dispatched to certain RTC's (Road Traffic Collision *we cant use the word accident anymore because apparently there is allways someone to blame*) or incidents wether it end's up being needed or not. Usually the PRL would get there first and send a message to controll who would turn the MRU back half way. It seems that this is no longer the case and the MRU will not leave the station until called in by the first crew on scene. As the MRU is a 'slower' appliance it is going to loose valuable time due to this crazy cost saving initiative, which is disguised in the crusade on saving the environment. Quite a step back from when we had appliances for every situation.
I am a bit rusty on this so if i make any mistakes i will get Gordon to correct me. The TTL (Turn Table Ladder) i am working on, which in theory is similar to one of your real life tower ladders is an old 'failed' custom attempt that is being reworked. The real life TTL is an older concept which has fallen out of favour due to the growing use of HP's (Hydraulic Platforms). Instead of having hydraulic booms with ladders up the side and a basket (HP) it has extending ladders and a basket (TTL) . Some of the 'proper' TTL's didn't have baskets at the end, just really long extending ladders. Unlike the US counterparts these vehicles are crewed by two fire fighters and carry a bare minimum of equipment.
My first attempt at one of these failed due to the impractical design of the 'ladder' mechanism, but the vehicle chassis as a whole was quite sturdy. I have managed to overcome the ladder problem with a complex hinge mechanism and some special parts from DS. If the weather picks up i will spray it tomorrow and it might be ready to unveil over the weekend. It will be assigned to my brigade HQ where it will be available for use throughout the brigade area.

Sorry for rambling on again...

Tim

Hello again Tim  !
 Don't be concerned about rambling, I enjoy reading about how things are done in your country compared to mine, & the projects you are working on! I hope you get the project painted as planned, because I'd like to see it!

Best Wishes,
Bill

[rms008]

wow amazing like your collection. im into this collection to i've got a huge collection with loads of branches and units and every one and each of them i designed a patch. i also build a web page system on my laptop to keep track of every item in the collection. keep it up im glad to see other people fascinated by this theme.
ryan

[Bill Blackhurst]

wow amazing like your collection. im into this collection to i've got a huge collection with loads of branches and units and every one and each of them i designed a patch. i also build a web page system on my laptop to keep track of every item in the collection. keep it up im glad to see other people fascinated by this theme.
ryan

Thank you Ryan! I'm glad you enjoyed my collection! There are several members here with the same interests as yours! We look forward to seeing your contributions too!