Fire! Fire! Fire!

Hm-mm, the photo in the last blog didn't re-size and took up most of the page. When I clicked on "Add Photo", I thought it was supposed to fit into the space allotted in the blog spot. Oh, well, it just wanted to disobey and show its independence, and I'm not going to mess with it anymore.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

Our great-grandsons are in the scouts and over the last weekend they participated in the annual Fire Prevention Parade in downtown Glendale, AZ. Their scout troop was selected to march in the parade and march they did. The parade lasted for about an hour-and-a-half with all the public figures and fire engines from different parts of the State. Even a couple engines from out of State were there blowing their sirens and honking horns. The first fire engine procured by Glendale was a 1917 Nash. It was a pretty sharp truck and still running, too.

The photo above shows some of the scouts watching the trucks and other entries after their part in the parade was finished. The TV news cameraman is there, too, taking pictures of the crowd.

This photo fell right into place like it was supposed to. Go figure.

Fires in the Old West were hard to contain, if they could be stopped at all. Well-water was about the only source for water except for the water storage tanks in towns that were so inclined to provide them, but they had no way to transport it to the fire except by use of "bucket brigades." The coming of steam engines required water be stored at the stops, but if the fire was down the street, there was no practical way to get the water to the fire. But with more modern technology and people to implement it, fire prevention became easier. The invention of fire hoses was a big step forward. The ranch owner, though, was at the mercy of fire, just like the merchants in town but on a smaller scale.