Freedom Engine = bust ?
I have been hearing these stories on and off for a few months now, but Dave Foulk, of DF’s Internet Flyer, as a full report on the problem’s that the Freedom Engine has been for the FDNY. (Full Post Here)
For those that do not know the Freedom Engine is a fire truck that the residents of Knoxville bought, completely, and gave to the New York Fire Department after 9/11. Originally the goal was a few hundred thousand and the purchase of a tanker truck, but the local residents exceeded the call, as normal, and raised almost 1 million dollars and bought a ladder truck. The truck was designated truck #14 and was called the Freedom Engine. I was built by Seagrave, a long time manufacturer of fire apparatus.
It seems that the Freedom Engine has had numerous problems though and has spent as much as 18 months in the shop since delivery. Apparently the FDNY & Seagrave are attempting to work out a extended warranty. Let us hope that can be accomplished as the people of the Knoxville area wanted to help the FDNY, not burden it with a unreliable machine.
