Fire Department Recruiting - 1960s

In case you missed my Facebook post on my CoonToonStudios page, here it is. I got some details from Dad on the phone last Sunday.

I recently found a short 16mm film titled 'Fire Department Recruiting' shot by Stew Coon and Dick Sax, probably in the 1960s, and had it converted to video.

The Rochester Fire Department recruiting film starts with a revolving bubble gum light at the Rochester Fire Station on Andrews Street, just north of the current Rochester Fire Department Downtown at 185 North Chestnut Street. The side of the firetruck has 'BUREAU OF FIRE, ROCHESTER, NY' on the cab and 'TRUCK 2' on the door. It passes a McCurdy's department store (anchor store and owner of the former Midtown Plaza), then a Three Sisters and F. W. Woolworth's, and finally a red Genesee Beer truck.

According to Stew, he shot from the inside the cab and Dick was standing on the back of the truck to get the opposite angle. The back driver of the hook-and-ladder truck operates a separate steering wheel to turn the rear wheels so it can navigate narrow city streets.

Cut to the modern-looking sign of the 'FIRE & POLICE ACADEMY TRAINING & PROVING GROUNDS,' now called the 'Police Safety Training Facility' on 1190 Scottsville Road. This is followed by demonstrating how to put a mask on, talking on the radio, checking the front of the fire truck, and picking up a circular saw--used to open locked doors or gates, remove security bars from windows, or to perform ventilation on metal roofs.

I couldn't find any music that fit from the period, so I used Talking Heads' 'Buring Down The House' as background.

Видео Fire Department Recruiting - 1960s канала CoonToonStudios