Fire Truck and More

The Fire Truck on exhibit is a 1938 pumper. It was built by the Bickle Fire Engine Company located in Woodstock Ontario. It was purchased for the Galt Fire Department in 1938. This truck would have had a Captain and a driver in the front. The other responding firefighters would stand on the back tailboard. We are very fortunate to have it proudly sitting back in its original position where it once responded.

The Pole and Upstairs.

The brass pole you see in the centre of the building, represents where the original pole was. It was used to go quickly from the second floor to the main floor.

The Firefighters quarters were upstairs on the second floor. Up there you’d find a kitchen, a lounge area, a training room, a washroom and sleeping quarters.

On the other side of the Truck in the corner you'll see a Foam Nozzle and Basket Stretcher. The basket stretcher and a back board were used to carry patients to safety. Beside it you see an old foam nozzle used to fight liquid fuel fires. The firefighters would lay a blanket of foam over a liquid fuel, the foam would suppress the fire preventing its spread. This nozzle is very big and cumbersome, newer ones are much smaller.

The Life Net.

The big round object on the wall with the red bullseye is called a Life Net. If there was a fire in a tall building and the occupants had no other way out, Firefighters would hold the net in front of a window and encourage the occupant to jump to safety. It was a very dangerous evolution. Due to advances in building construction and firefighting technology, it became obsolete by the 1980s.

Next to the Life Net you see our wall of badges. These are identification badges from departments all across Ontario. We have many more around the museum from around the world.

See if you can find the city you grew up in.