California
Related: About this forumWhy the San Francisco Fire Department Uses Handmade Wooden Ladders
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a15120/san-francisco-fire-department-wooden-ladders/The Northern California city is infamous for its tightly packed roads and low-hanging power lines. San Francisco's cramped quarters make the wooden ladders a "necessity," as this four-minute video below explains. Compared to their aluminum counterparts, these ladders don't conduct electricity and are easy to maneuver in small spaces.
The coolest part? The SF Fire Department has its own in-house ladder manufacturer, the only city that can say that. The ladders are made from Douglas fir trees, and the lumber matures for at least 15 years so it can acclimate to the city's humid conditions. That's just the beginning of a life that can last for decades. Check out whole process:
Well, New Orleans builds its own streetcars.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,719 posts)SO very smart of the City of San Francisco.
leveymg
(36,418 posts)Canoe52
(2,949 posts)But there is a lot of epoxy used in the construction of the sailboat you have in that picture.
underpants
(182,911 posts)Brother Buzz
(36,469 posts)My neighbor, a twice retired fire chief, told me that back in the days when wooden ladders were the bomb, they reverently maintained them in house by scrapping off the old varnish with broken glass to bare wood then re-varnish them. No sandpaper or pneumatic sanders were involved, just a gunnysack of broken glass and lots of elbow grease.
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)thanks for posting.
petronius
(26,604 posts)I watched a video last year from Huell Howser about this shop
antiquie
(4,299 posts)I'm a fan of HH and did not recall seeing the SFFD ladder segment, so I went looking on calgold, KCET (including interactive map), and the Huell Howser archive at Chapman University.
thx
calikid
(584 posts)On edit: I went to "Rob on the road" to see if maybe that was where I saw it, no joy, sorry
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)I don't watch the show, but I found this online:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi4173832985
antiquie
(4,299 posts)pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)antiquie
(4,299 posts)pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)Last edited Thu Jun 18, 2015, 11:24 PM - Edit history (1)
In a humorous vein, I couldn't help being reminded of the chicken/road joke, with the punchline in this case being "To get a leg up."
greiner3
(5,214 posts)And here in Columbus OH we produce our own bullshit.
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)Just kidding, I love the Buckeyes and the band from spending a couple of months there working in the Kerry field office at the old steel mill union building. Met a lot of great people, and a Redcoat even got me in free to see the Michigan game.
lastlib
(23,309 posts)Old lumber to a fire may not be adding gasoline to it, but fifteen-year-old fried lumber--gotta be pretty good kindling........ Jus' sayin'........
Danmel
(4,928 posts)I'll have to show this to my husband and son.