Why Don’t We Have… FIRECOPTERS? (Aug, 1953) Why Don’t We Have…
FIRECOPTERS? Helicopter fire engines to fight flames from the
air and rescue victims trapped on upper floors. By Frank Tinsley
REMEMBER the time back in July 1945 when a fog-befuddled Army
bomber crashed into the tower of New York’s Empire State
Building? The plane smashed through the outer wall and
disintegrated, dumping a ton of high-test gasoline from its
upturned tanks. This torrent sloshed through the wrecked offices
and ignited with a roar. Blazing gas poured down the elevator
shafts, turning them into chimneys of flame and cutting off
escape from the tower floors above. Doors, windows and
partitions were blown out by the blast. Plane debris, office
furniture and mangled bodies were piled into the corners. Before
the smoke subsided, several stories were gutted, 13 people
incinerated and 25 others badly burned! Only chance and luck
saved the workers trapped in the tower because rescue was
impossible. The following year on May 20, a C-45 trans