The SFW image thread

Pretty sure this is SFW, but just to be on the safe side:

Spoiler: It does bear a striking resemblance to something they'd make

 

The admiral getting ready for the day~

 

1957 Dodge Coronet

 

Wait, what model is that?

 

This 1946 Kenworth fire engine was used by the Seattle Fire Department from 1946 to 1970 as Apparatus No. 155, and was the fifth fire engine with an enclosed cab to enter service with the Department. No. 155 was one of the engines that responded to the August, 1951 crash of a B-50 bomber into an apartment building near Boeing Field. (The site of that accident is now under I-5.) In 1972, it was transferred to Seattle City Light for use at the Diablo Dam and surrounding areas, until it was finally retired in 2001.

 

Wow. That's a hell of a service life for a firetruck, IIRC.

 

Those old firetrucks did last for a very long time- Jay Leno's YouTube channel where he does shows about cars has a few videos featuring vintage firetrucks- because of the demands that would be placed on them, they were built like tanks, and because they were expensive pieces of equipment, they'd often be in service with the department who bought them for 20-30+ years, and could then be passed on to a small town fire department, airport, movie studio, or factory, which might get another decade or two out of them before they were finally retired.

For example the truck in the picture was the first unit delivered out of an order of 6, which cost the City of Seattle $13,127.35 a pop, and, adjusted for inflation, is the equivalent of $164,903.08 in today's money. With a single vehicle costing that much, the cities who bought them really wanted them to last for a long time, especially with how heavily they were built, although Seattle City Light did perform a major overhaul on the truck when they got it, replacing the engine, water tank with new, more modern stuff, and modifying the hose bed.

 

It also helps that industrial or airport fire engines almost never get used except for training; if they're getting called out as often as an appliance belonging to the local fire service then the Health and Safety people will have some rather pointed questions for the company.

 

Splatoon