austinfiremuseum – A day in the life of an Austin firefighter in 1953 as filmed by the station captain, Victor Eugene Tiemann.
The home movie features Driver Willie Walsh, recently deceased (5/11/12), Firefighter Willie Ray Davis, and firefighter Marvin Douglas. Captain Tiemann wanted to portray a typical day at an Austin fire station. The men check out the truck, train on some ladders, have territory school, and respond quickly to a fire. They also are shown registering local children’s bikes. The final scene even includes a little horse play, tricking the rookie into serving them their food.
Pay attention to when the truck is backing into the station, on the left side, you’ll see their dog jump off the truck and run beside the engine as it backs into the station. The dog’s name was “5’s”, after their fire station number.
