Childhood Firefighting Drawings by Walter Bublé.

Below are a few of the many drawings that Walter created between the ages of 5 and 13. Most of the scenes are based on the fire department in his home town of Mineola, NY on Long Island. Some are made-up fire departments and some are loosely based on FDNY.

As soon as Walter was old enough to ride a bicycle, he would race to the fire station that was located two blocks away from his home every time the public fire-warning siren went off. This was back in the day before pagers were used.

The first firefighter to the station, which was a sub-station with two engines, called the dispatcher to get the call details. This firefighter would write the type of fire and location on a blackboard so the next firefighters would know where to go.

Walter would race up on his bike, read the black board and go to the scene, using shortcuts cutting thru yards, fields, and parking lots, often beating the trucks there if the fire was close enough. Once there, Walter observed carefully and often based his drawings on what he saw. Of course, food fires often became multiple alarms in his drawings, but there were enough working fires to provide him with material.

When Walter turned 18 years old, he signed up with the fire department, but there was a waiting list of more than 100 applicants. By the time the fire department called, nearly two years had passed and Walter had moved into the Bronx where the goal of joining a volunteer department was put off until another day. Today, Walter is happily answering the call with the Danby Fire Department in upstate New York, where he now drives his car to the scene, mostly staying out of yards and fields.


 

A barn fire in crayon at about age 5.

On scene with a crew of one.

Notice the wise use of the master stream on this blaze - presumably dumping the booster tank in two minutes.

This lone firefighter is doing all he can do while he waits for water supply and more personnel.
 

The Mineola Fire Department as the artist knew it around 1971, age 9.

Floodlight truck;
1971 100 ft. Seagrave Ladder;
1968 Ward LaFrance open cab snorkel;
Emergency truck;
Engines - Mack; Ward-LaFrance; Ward LaFrance with deck gun; 1953 Ford.
 

The Mineola Fire Dept. at work on a mythical surround and drown ca.1972, age 10.

Note the hydrant operations -  almost all the drawings from this point on show good water supply being established.

An aerial view of operations.

Smoke showing.

You can imagine the radio traffic here:

“Ladder 10 to

Engine 1, Move up! I own the front.”

A downtown apartment fire in Anywhere Village.

Note the chief’s car up front.  The chief and the village cop are having a pow-wow.

The engine blocking the road is hooked to the hydrant thru its front intake and is supplying the snorkel’s master stream.

An after-the-fire scene in the big city.

Note the

various equipment:

Ladder,

different size

pike poles,

fog nozzles,

flash lights,

negative

pressure fan,

yellow air packs, rubber boots, draining hand-lines, helmets, axe, extinguishers, first aid kits.

A 2-car mva. Nassau County Police sends half the precinct to this wreck.

The artist’s father was a Nassau  cop for thirty years.

Note that the police handled mva’s in Nassau and often sent their ambulance and rescue truck.

Also note Nassau’s county colors of blue and orange on the old cars.

Top: Multiple alarms.  

Right: Taking it easy at a Room and contents.

Detail: Working the exposure.

Below: Fire spreads to exposure side D.

 A skyscraper blazes somewhere in the city. Almost as many cops on scene as firefighters.

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