Fire Engine Photos

No: 20708 Contributor: Petros Year: 1974 Manufacturer: Dennis Country: United Kingdom

Dennis F49 Simonitor Liverpool BKA 562K

Taken 1974 - officially a TSM 15 (telesimonitor 15 metre)allocated to station C3 Liverpool Fire Brigade, Merseyside FB from April 1974. In the early 1970s large swathes of central Liverpool was cleared of its Victorian housing stock, and this was a fire in a derelict house I think. This is the appliance that was shown on the BBC's Tomorrow's World programme, showing the future of fire fighting. In fact only a handful of TSM 15s were sold.

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Picture added on 22 November 2009 at 12:40

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This appliance was a write off after it hit a bus at the bottom of Water Street near the Pier Head.I remember them filming for Tomorrow's World, I was on a course at the training school and we could see it from the mess, Funny all the crew were officers.

Added by Dave Price on 24 November 2009.

Hmm, amazing how whitehats and smoke eaters come out when a camera is around! I have even seen an ADO brushing a road for the BBC! Rarer than Panda triplets!

Added by Gary Simpson on 28 November 2009.

Gary, that had me falling about! Our good old AFO at Leeds used to wear a black helmet because he wanted to feel seperate from that strange breed of "white tops"!

Added by John Stott on 29 November 2009.

Petros, I believe a couple of them were in use in Glasgow and Andy Anderson wrote a small booklet about them for the FBS.
Petros can you e-mail me off group please? Thanks, Frank

Added by Frank van der Weerden on 29 November 2009.

Frank,Glasgow operated fourteen'Telescoping Boomed Aerials Appliances'and all were Scooshers(Scoosher is an old-Glasgow slang term for'water pistol')and a scoosh to a Glasgow fireman means to give a quick wash down with a jet.
This photograph shows a Simonitor and Glasgow did not use these,also this is totally different to a Scoosher.Pete.

Added by Pete Matten on 29 November 2009.

Pete,is it true that Glasgow Schooshers had a Window Breaking Tool next to the nozzle? Or was this Just a Ham-Fisted Glaswegian Fireman?

Added by Gary Simpson on 30 November 2009.

Gary,very interesting point,and I quote from Andy F.Anderson's 1993 booklet on the Glasgow Fire Service's Scooshers.It says:-At the top of the boom was a patented piercing implement which projected ahead of the monitor,this was used as a window breaker,and also acted as a means of protection from obstacles encountered by the monitor assembly during firefighting.Pete.

Added by Pete Matten on 01 December 2009.

OK, thanks for highlighting this Pete.

Added by Frank van der weerden on 04 December 2009.

Looks a lot like the American "telesquirt", which also had a limited period of popularity, as it was yet another example of an answer to a question nobody was asking.

Added by Rob Johnson on 10 June 2013.

This was one of 2 prototypes Lancs had the other on a Ford chassis, passing to GMC in 74 who subsequently had several others on I think ERF chassis. GMC later sold the ex Lancs one to West Yorks who rechassied it as a FoT.

Added by Neal Glover on 11 June 2013.

Flintshire had one at flint. it is now part of the Merseyside fire service museum collection.

Added by Dave Price on 12 June 2013.

Station C3 was Canning Place opposite the Albert Dock on the Dock Road. The gnd flr of a multi storey building from the early 70s closed early 2000s and demolished. 3bay station for a short time, 1 PHP, 1 Simonitor 1 85ft HP. It had the appearance of a Simon Engineering showroom Now part of the back way in to Liverpool One

Added by Neal Glover on 12 June 2013.

I was one of the crew - Ian Tayler, with Stan Miller Peter Crew and Gene Li.

Ed: how amazing. This is my photo from my teenage years.

Added by Ian Tayler on 06 May 2021.

Now we have the Stinger and Scorpion. All higher tech versions of the Scoosher. Some telescopic, some that bend.

Added by Neal Glover on 06 May 2021.

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