The California State Firefighters Association held their Annual Conference at the Hilton Costa Mesa on September 13-16. The event was hosted by the Costa Mesa Firefighters Association and included vintage fire apparatus on display from CFE members and the Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach Fire Departments, as well as the CSFA Steamer. Several CFE members were also CSFA members were also in attendance at the convention and on Sunday morning, then candidate for Governor in the California recall election, Arnold Schwarzenegger, spoke to CSFA members and local supporters gathered following the CSFA board's formal announcement of their endorsement of Schwarzenegger. Ironically, one of the pieces of apparatus on display during the convention was the cab off the widebody Crown which was blown up in this summer's hit Schwarzenegger movie "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines."
Vintage rigs on display were: The CSFA Horse Drawn steamer; Newport Beach's 1925 Seagrave-La France (or maybe it's a American La Seagrave - look at the radiator vs. the body, the result of a long ago shop rebuild following a front -end accident); Laguna Beach's 1931 Seagrave; Mike McDonlad's 1952 Mack, ex-NY State Prisons; Darrell Gilbert's 1955 Crown pumper, ex-Consolidated FPD/ex-Auburn CA, ex-LA County FD; Costa Mesa Firefighter Association's 1961 Crown, ex-Orange County, CA FD; Mike Britt's 1966 Crown pumper, ex-Orange County, CA FD; Randy Marsile with "Big John" a 1967 Crown pumper, ex-Orange County, CA FD; The Bramms 1970 Seagrave, ex-LAFD; Mike Britt's 1970 Crown pumper, ex-Culver City FD; Darrell Gilbert's 1970 Crown/Maxim 100' mid-mount ladder truck, ex-Arcata FD; The California Fire Museum's 1975 Ford/Pierce/Crown mini-pumper, ex-Mt Baldy FPD/ex-Indio FD; CFE's 1979 Crown widebody pumper, ex-Chino FD; the California Fire Museum's 1979 Crown Cab trailer "T-1/3;" and Richard Loff with his 1982 Crown pumper, ex-Santa Ana FD.
