let me put it this way too. all fire engines have roofs and fully enclosed rider cabs now. this came about because of the 1960s riots and general unrest. not only would the rioters smash, burn, shoot, and kill, they would bombard firemen with rocks and concrete to prevent them from fighting the fires they had set.
before the 1960s though closed cabs were not unknown, the typical fire truck had a fully open, roofless cab, and many firemen rode to calls on the outside running boards, hanging on to the truck's handrails. the enlarged closed rider cabs weren't a fashion change, they were armor. in the FDNY this change was particularly drastic, and i think there are still some surviving pieces of equipment in collections that have improvised protective cab shields and canopies applied.
here's some pictures as well, in an article on washington. important to remember is that after this devastation these buildings were removed, and many of these places were scarred urban deserts as late as the 1980s.
https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2018/03/30/dc-riots-1968-then-and-now.html
let me put it this way too. fire engines have roofs and fully enclosed cabs now. this is entirely because of the 1960s riots and general unrest. not only would the rioters smash, burn, shoot, and kill, they would bombard firemen with rocks and concrete to prevent them from fighting the fires they had set.
before the 1960s though closed cabs were not unknown, the typical fire truck had a fully open, roofless cab, and many firemen rode to calls on the outside running boards, hanging on to the truck's handrails. the enlarged closed rider cabs weren't a fashion change, they were armor. in the FDNY this change was particularly drastic, and i think there are still some surviving pieces of equipment in collections that have improvised protective cab shields and canopies applied.
here's some pictures as well, in an article on washington. important to remember is that after this devastation these buildings were removed, and many of these places were scarred urban deserts as late as the 1980s.
https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2018/03/30/dc-riots-1968-then-and-now.html
let me put it this way too. fire engines have roofs and fully enclosed cabs now. this is entirely because of the 1960s riots and general unrest. not only would the rioters smash, burn, shoot, and kill, they would bombard firemen with rocks and concrete to prevent them from fighting the fires they had set.
before the 1960s the typical fire truck had a fully open, roofless cab, and many firemen rode to calls on the outside running boards, hanging on to the truck's handrails. the enlarged closed rider cabs weren't a fashion change, they were armor.
here's some pictures. important to remember is that after this devastation these buildings were removed, and many of these places were scarred urban deserts as late as the 1980s.
https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2018/03/30/dc-riots-1968-then-and-now.html