Sesame Street - Fireman Ready to Go

[@jamesgosselin1886]

It took me forever to find this. I think this had more influence on me a s a kid to become a firefighter even more the Emergency! What a flashback!!

[@kurtkauffman4326]

I do remember seeing this on SS as a youngster in the early 70's.Thanks a lot for posting.

[@tyrese3745]

This was shot at the current Trenton Fire Dept. Headquarters on 244 Perry Street in the Five Points (Battle Monument) section of Trenton.

[@pst702]

Great memories! Thanks for posting this video 👍. As a kid I used to ring the bell of my bicycle when I was riding my neighborhood and trying to remember most of the words to this song (lol). Loved it as a kid.

[@johneastmond9092]

Fun to see this again! Open cab apparatus, mechanical telegraph, no hose wringers, no SCUBA. 3:19 backing in an articulated apparatus is quite hard! The rear driver steers the rear of the truck whilst the front steers the rear of the tractor and the front of the tractor. (rear of the front and front of the front!) this was fun to see some of the old equipment.

[@TorontoJediMaster]

I remember this from when I was a kid. I recall that catch tune. What's fascinating now is how...dated...the equipment and procedures are. Can you imagine firefighters holding onto the sides of trucks nowadays versus being seated in the cab area with seatbelts on?

[@johneastmond9092]

@tpirman1982 That thing is the tape machine or "tape" for short. The rig was a mechanical call box identifier. When a person would pull the fire alarm on the street or building, the alarm would be activated and a unique number would be imprinted on the tape that then would be used to locate the call to an address. This was the predecessor to the addressable fire alarm. Not only would it alert you to a fire, it would tell you WHERE!

[@scottkoenig9928]

50 years old this film

[@RSG2006]

The writer and singer of the song in this clip is William Barnes Brown, same guy who did "Hey Cow" from Episode 1.

[@d72jjpilc]

Thanks for posting! The part I remember most is when the two firefighters are playing chess while the fire bell sounds, and they promptly leave in order to perform their duties! Nice memory!

[@manib5241]

My sisters and brother and I used to sing this refrain over and over, adding "ding, ding, wait for me!" to the end. For some reason I was thinking about us harmonizing this tune this morning and found it here on KZbin, great! (wasn't sure where we'd got it from)

[@welchm8]

I believe it -- you can sort of tell how retro by the firemen's appearances, and that the music sounds like Simon & Garfunkel if S&G composed educational songs.

[@Targetsignal2]

Wow you brought back some memories. I remember when our fire station had a Mack Pumper it was old Engine 19. It was sold to The Netherlands and it sunk to the bottom of the ocean when the ship wrecked or so my dad said.

[@NateKing21]

This song grooves!

[@tpirman1982]

Believe it or not, according to Muppet Wiki, the first time this film aired was in episode 131 on November 9, 1970.

[@Targetsignal2]

The old ticker tape our firestation here has one of those and the thing still works. It comes from according to my dad a box call.

[@cynthiarodriguez9466]

My husband told me that after the 911 terrorist attacks, he, several of his men, and several firefighters were honored as local heroes by a church organization for their service to their community. The highest ranking member from the fire department paid homage to my husband and his men by paying them the ultimate compliment. He stated that the only ones that could criticize him and his men or any other firefighters were police officers because their jobs were that much more dangerous than that of firefighters.

[@scottkoenig9928]

I think it is interesting how it goes from Trenton New Jersey to Newark New Jersey then brief moment in New York City Philly and back New York City and back to Trenton

[@johneastmond9092]

@tpirman1982 nowadays we use advanced 911. How that works is when you call, the address of the phone is automatically displayed on the dispatcher's screen. The info. is based in [hone company records. This only works for landlines! For cellphones the recent development is GPS. When a 911 call is made, the position is triangulated and a location is displayed. With all these systems (even tape) the assumption is the call location is the emergency location.

[@Sparkina]

Memory flash! Now, as an adult, I do notice that the singers do sound something like Paul S and Arthur G

[@tpirman1982]

@johneastmond I see. Seems old fashioned. I wonder how they get their fire emergency locations these days when a fire is reported instead of that old fashioned way.

[@toonsis]

I used to annoy so many people singing this song. Once when I was 5 and then again when I was 30

[@bdh70]

I still do. I sang it today on the bus when a fire engine went by, I'm 46 and it wasn't the first time

[@toonsis]

.........no comment...and I am 52

[@brianhrobsky9200]

It was because of this clip i became a volunteer fireman 23 years ago......and still going

[@pst702]

I used to annoy my sisters with this song...lol...they would say "Will you stop singing that silly song!!" ..HAHA 🤣...great memories.

[@Crusadist1099]

Those trucks are antiques now.

[@rockintetster]

The same singer or singers did a song accompanying a video call "Riding on the Train." Still looking for that one! Haven't seen it since the 70s!

[@charlessmith263]

I know about half of the song...I think you are looking for the song that has these words like, "The A train, B train, double C--gets ya everywhere you want to be...ride the Local or Express"....." Something like that. I am trying to find it too.

[@rockintetster]

Charles Smith That's it!

[@TorontoJediMaster]

I'm with you. I remember it too.

[@Scott-ri2sy]

Groovy tune

[@seanreilly2936]

I wonder how many fireman today are on the rig today because of this song.

[@johneastmond9092]

@jfpinell Yes they did! Can you believe it?! You'd have 20 or so of us standing on the outside of the apparatus, with no harnesses or seatbelts on the outside or the inside! this was shot in good weather, what about cold icy snowy conditions? I've done the -40 degree F 40 minute dispatch, that's fun!! Garbage trucks, log trucks, crew trucks and the like also had folks standing and holding on. There wasn't allot of freeway speeds but there was some.

[@douggypledger]

the fire is OUT

[@timothymclorin]

Sesame Street - Fireman Ready to Go season 2 1970 1971

[@scottkoenig9928]

This re ran for a long time

[@aaronw8781]

I’d love to hear an Iron Maiden version of this song.

[@johneastmond9092]

@jfpinell Not from the city bud. Ran remote facilities and municipalities in the middle of nowhere. We responded to military camps, man camps, minner's camps and even a couple of Boy Scout camps. The oldest apparatus is a steam driven pump then comes the world war one hand cranker crane. The newest is a 2000 dodge service truck with all the goodies. The biggest town I've dealt with is about 40,000 people. mostly we deal in 2,000 folks or less.

[@Scott-ri2sy]

I was in Trenton few days ago and saw the modern day ladder 4 pretty nice rig what year is ladder 4 in the film

[@kurtkauffman4326]

EMERGENCY! aired for the very 1st time on 1/22/1972.Then later aired for the last time on 9/3/1977.

[@rambam1204]

Actually, red is a common color for emergency workers because of its brightness and temperature (warm colors tend to advance, cool ones recede). That's why stop signs and lights are that color.

[@barkon]

Wow. I would have thought that open-top firetrucks would have been obsolete even by the sixties. Shows what I know. Watching too much Emergency!, I guess... I did want to grow up to be the ladder truck rear driver, though. Instead I joined the USCG.

[@tpirman1982]

1:00 What is that reel machine next to the fire bell?

[@johneastmond9092]

@jfpinell Of coarse my favorite is the city folk who move from town and then cry about the smell!!! Or folks who cry about; "that's not how we do it...." . I just laugh and tell them this is how WE do it! We still use steam and mechanical apparatus which you could never use in town, but works great (in fact most new stuff wouldn't fit or work for us) for what we do.

[@euclidave3176]

Dale Pidcoe DuBoistown,PA. When and where was comic actor Don Adams born?

[@rockintetster]

@microbusss this is from Trenton, NJ

[@Wa3ypx]

The "Golden Age of Firefighting!"

[@1f5sda]

Go firefighters!

[@mel4pat2000]

tpirman 1982 was right! that's about when i remember it from. might anyone know what town or city that was in, or if it was more that one city fire department. one of the scenes showed a city bus model that was only in Chicago.

[@charlessmith263]

I like this line in this song that pays homage to the people who work in the hundreds of fire department firehouses...... "The fire chief car leads the way... The hook and the ladder follows... Pumper truck brings out water......" And this other line is my favorite.... "Boots to keep the water out, Helmet to keep his head dry, Raincoat to keep the water out.... Fireman - he's fightin' the fire, the fireman......"

[@quietman71]

This was the first time I saw a chessboard. I remember thinking, “Hey, they aren’t playing checkers. What is that?”

[@microbusss]

@rockintetster thanks but where is the firehouse? Is it still there & used? hehe

[@aisyaisthebest3857]

Gives me Pumper Pups vibes lol.

[@schemer1991]

big red truck big lime green fire truck

[@These2EyesSeeEverything]

I always thought the song sounded kind of sad, but liked this skit a lot anyway

[@Scott-ri2sy]

Always wondered how it shows four different fire departments Trenton New Jersey Philadelphia New York city and Newark New Jersey

[@2199]

Iremember this as well.....but when I saw it it was round when I was a twerp.

[@1f5sda]

There were also parts shot in New York City at 3:01-3:03 and 2:36-2:40

[@scottkoenig9928]

I remember it well

[@LittleJerryFan92]

That one's already posted.

[@jimhayes6028]

I remember 1 about the mailman. Would you have that 1 by any chance?

[@Smartboy8877]

@cochranexyz I also have that DVD set!

[@Wa3ypx]

Hahn engine, Pirsch ladder

[@lenellbr]

Can you give the link. I can't seem to find it. I would appericate it. lenellbr

[@michaelt977]

tfd stands trenton fire dept.so,trenton is in new jersey.

[@Scott-ri2sy]

Does anyone know where the fire hydrant is

[@stevenscottoddballz]

Back then ~ how did they know where to go or what was happening? {BTW ~ they're not always going to fires. One time I called them because the oil on the stove was smoking up the apartment. They came to check us out, get the oil out, and make sure that it DIDN'T get on fire. They would prefer to prevent fires, which is easier.}

[@stevedogan]

Coming from a small town farm kid with nothing but volunteers.....do they actually ride standing on the sides of the trucks or is that just on TV? I can't imagine the liability if someone would slip! Did they really not wear SCBA equipment outside back then? Or yet? I can only think about what all they'd be breathing!

[@stevedogan]

I figured the time thing. I'm 42. But in farm country to this day we don't have anything that goes higher than 2 stories. Which I think is like 30 ft....? (The only thing higher than the 2 story houses are the silos!) :) You mean they actually have manual "hop off and dump the trash can in the back of the truck" kind yet? Everything even in farm country here is automatic mechanical arm lift & dump kind of trucks. I don't ever recall a time when the guys didn't have their masks on OUTSIDE -unless they were higher rank "direct & control"...Chief, Assistant, Captain.

[@brendanwilliams7291]

Great sketch but who sings the song?

[@microbusss]

what city is this from? TFD?? I'll bet that the firehouse is still there! lol

[@firecriss1392]

This must have been before Gage and DeSoto....they were still using a fire bell instead of that annoying series of buzzes on "Emergency".

[@lenellbr]

Thanks for uploading this! This brings back my childhood watching Sasame Street. This clip was always my favorite because of it's catchy tune. The FIREMANNN! Well Done. Lenell B. BTW: Do you have the song "Gimme 5" It was sung by the guys from Sasame street.

[@Wa3ypx]

How about the pompier ladder on that rig

[@microbusss]

I bet anything these trucks are either scrapped or in a museum somewhere or laying in a vacant field rotting away

[@epsidamzer3738]

Was that from the mid-late 70's?

[@michaelt977]

you mean emergency debuted in 1972,not 1872 don't you?