Jim Shay
Connecticut Post, Bridgeport, Conn.
DANBURY, Conn. — Remember the Seventies TV show “Emergency?”
It was a show that featured Firefighter Paramedics Johnny Gage and Roy DeSoto responding to emergencies in their rescue truck from Squad 51 in Los Angeles.
The series that ran six seasons inspired many people to become firefighters and paramedics.
Last weekend, a replica of that truck made a stop in Danbury.
Danbury firefighters posted on Facebook Sunday, photos of truck along with the man who built it - Fire Chief Ron Morin of Maine
“For many of us (the older guys) the TV show “Emergency!” was the impetus for launching our fire service career,” the post read. “So if you want to honor that show, AND the firefighters who developed from it, what do you do? You build a replica of Squad 51, and that’s just what Chief Ron Morin of Maine did.
“The downside is, you cannot stop anywhere without a photo op with local firefighters. Luckily for us, Ron and the Squad stayed in Danbury last night and it was our turn for the photo op. Also thank you to Greenwich FD LT Steven Cacase for the heads up!”
Morin, owner of Sugarloaf Ambulance/Rescue Vehicles, has been designing and building emergency vehicles for over 30 years.
Morin wrote on the company’s web site, his replica of the Squad 51 from the TV Series “Emergency!” became possible by purchasing a 1971 Dodge from Alna Fire Dept. in Maine and an original paramedic rescue body from California.
“While searching for a utility body, I came across the body on eBay that had been in a storage shed for more than fifteen years.
“We flew to California and dug the body out of a storage shed and with come-a-longs (1971 style) we loaded it into a rental truck and drove back to Maine. The body required some work, however the cab was in immaculate condition, with only 7,980 miles on it. We have applied the graphics. ‘Lost Angles Fire Dept. & Rescue Squad.’
“There is very simple lettering, as to not duplicate the original trademark of the L.A. County Fire Dept. The original TV Series show vehicle is in the L.A. County Fire Museum.
“As you can see, I am very excited about this adventure and its potential. The first showing was at The Fire House Grill, in Auburn, Maine with my friends from Firehouse Dolls, the first of many public shows with the Lost Angles.’ I, personally was inspired by the TV Series “Emergency!” to become a paramedic in 1982, in Maine’s first graduating class,” Morin said.
“Having given more than forty years in Emergency Medical Services, I now have the ability to give back, by making the younger generation understand where us Dinosaurs of EMS came from.”
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©2019 the Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, Conn.)