MC's Bar and Cafe

                          

The Story of the Mc's fire on main street July 6, 1986. Rifle was spared a worse loss.
Courtesy of Stuart Cerise and written by him.
There is much more to the story. While fighting that fire, Silt Engine 37, the 1984 FMC pumper, had a 6 inch supply line (between the truck intake and the fire hydrant) break.
The pump immediately ran dry endangering the various nozzlemen and the concrete pump truck. The pressure side of the broken hose whipped wildly about soaking everything within 50 feet.
[edit. A commercial cement pump truck happened to be downtown. With some welded connections, it was put to use putting water on the building]
The hose whipped again before Firefighters could get it shut off at the hydrant. One of the most powerful violent whips went under Engine 37 and directly into the exhaust pipe.
Nearly 100 pounds of water pressure pushed into the Detroit Diesel engine causing damage to the engine.... a bent connecting rod, a broken piston and damage to the cylinder liner.
The engine began smoking and it sounded like it was "missing" on 1 cylinder.
Quickly Firefighters shut off the hydrant and replaced the broken 6" hose. The engine sounded terrible, yet the decision was made to keep operating it (and therefore the concrete pump unit) to try to save downtown Rifle.
The engine continued to operate for several more hours, until the fire was contained. Hoses were rolled up and the 2 Silt fire engines returned to their station.
Chief Crandall called the local Detroit Diesel repair facility in Grand Junction the next morning. They dispatched a mechanic quickly, understanding that this was a crucial piece of fire apparatus.
The mechanic tore down the engine and found the damaged parts. Calls were made to obtain the needed parts from the manufacturer of the Engine.
Engineers from Detroit Diesel determined that damage should NOT have occurred and authorized 100% warranty.
Engine 37 was returned to full service a couple days later, after repairs were completed. Quite a story!
The other part of the story is the other Silt Engine... a 1956 GMC pumper made by Howe fire apparatus.
That 30 year old truck operated perfectly throughout the fire, supplying 2 defensive nozzle positions and 1 protection nozzle.
Kudos to that 30 year old girl and the Firefighters who still knew how to operate the "Parade" truck to its fullest capacity!
Firefighters from both, Rifle and Silt worked overnight in dangerous conditions as they fought a fire that could have easily taken much of Downtown Rifle.
Exhausted the next morning, Firefighters put their equipment in ready to operate condition (except Engine 37), then went to their respective day jobs... exhausted and tired!
We were elated knowing we saved Downtown Rifle, yet also felt a sense of failure because of the loss of structures and businesses.

 

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