There are questions that haunt me when I'm rewatching the episodes, like:

When our guys do their usual high rescue, it seems that they have no way of bringing the rope down afterwards. How much rope do they go through? Or do they get it down off camera?? Hell, one time they left the drug box up top during the rescue and I always wondered how long it took them to realize it...heehee. I would assume/hope it was when they got into the ambulance, but still it meant another trip up again.

When they go into the water, what does that do to their wallets, the id and the money??

Where are the toilets? I mean, the shower is a single and enclosed off to the side. The sinks are facing the lockers. I don't remember actually seeing the toilet in the series, so could someone who was actually at Station 127 let me know. And considering the single shower, am I correct in assuming that there was only one toilet? Or was it a toilet and a urinal, since most firefighters in the 1970s were still male? I see remodeling if they ever have a woman at that station, just due to the shower unless they make the locker room off-limits to the opposite sex during showers.

Liz,

I had to laugh at the question of the drug box... we left ours at the bus station once! Not a good place to leave one! L It was really humiliating when dispatch called us on the radio and said "are you guys missing anything??" Talk about a sinking feeling! And then when another crew showed up to bring it to us, gleefully enjoying our squirming, that was even more humiliating, L.

Of course, on E!, everything's always ok because they have a big nice film crew to take care of it g Seriously, I guess the continuity people didn't catch it or figured no one would notice (I didn't).

As for toilets, I would hope they have more than one since it's a station filled with guys and you know how that is. I would venture a guess that toilet issues weren't considered appropriate TV in the 70s, so who's to say? I guess that means you can make it however many toilets you want, should you write a story.

I know what they should've done with a station built in the early 1970 era, but it appears someone wasn't thinking since 51 was actually a station (127) and what I could see was so small for a group of guys. I'm assuming since I read that there was no squad from the station really, just an engine and another large vehicle (can't remember if it was a pumper or a ladder truck) but if a ladder, that means more guys in the station shift, doesn't it? It's hard enough to imagine them having to wait their turn at the shower (unless they were VERY friendly...sorry, couldn't resist) without dealing with one or two toilets/urinals.

I've been to 127's. When I was stranded in LA in Sept 2001, I had a chance to see it. (Didn't do the gawking tourist thing since it was just a few days after 9/11 and I didn't feel right about being intrusive.) It actually was across the street from a company which we have business dealings. (The guard thought I was nuts when I leapt from the vehicle.)

The very first thing that struck me was just how small 127's was. I really had imagined it as being much larger. But it is not much more than a big two car garage with some rooms on the side.

There are several stations of this exact design in LA. There was one in San Fernado near the place where I was taking my class, which I got a better look at the outside. It was about 3 times as long as it was wide.

Judging from the location of the plumbing vent stack, I'd guess the toilets were/are behind the wall with the sink and the enterance was out of camera range. I agree that Standards and Practices probably frowned on plumbing. All in the Family gave us the first flush on American TV. And not too many years before, the starship Enterprise took a 5 year cruise without a single head..... SO I won't be surprised to find the entire plumbing layout to be different from the set.

Toksa
Rose

Makes you wonder if that's why the transporter malfunctioned so often, it was a portapotty into space, like the cruise ships do in the ocean...heehee.

Snicker. I bought a set of the plans for the Enterprise when they came out in the early 70s... they featured the letters "WC" miraculously hidden behind the walls, like a hologram. I guess it's meant to mean anything you want it to mean... I would imagine Uhura would have a more luxurious water closet than, say, Chekov.
As for going into the water with your wallet, I can only say that I was told to make a photocopy of my EMT card and my wallet, and take that only onto the bus with me, to leave my wallet behind. A friend of mine told the story of having to be decontaminated and losing his entire wallet. So I don't take one with me any more, just a handful of change and the laminated photocopies. Of course they didn't have plain paper copiers then either... or as much need for decontamination.

>>When they go into the water, what does that do to their wallets, the id and the money??<<

Well, we didn't see them take their wallets out, but they do. If they forget.... well.

Personally, I washed my uniform pants.... Went back to the washing machine when the cycle was done and lifted the lid... There on top as neat as could be was my leather trifold wallet open, with all ids and badge and money. SIGH I put the whole thing on the cuttingboard to dry out. It looked a little "exploded" because I had the money pocket propped open with a credit card. And everything spread out to dry, too. I had some really clean dollar bills from that.

>>Where are the toilets? I mean, the shower is a single and enclosed off to the side. The sinks are facing the lockers. I don't remember actually seeing the toilet in the series, so could someone who was actually at Station 127 let me know. And considering the single shower, am I correct in assuming that there was only one toilet? Or was it a toilet and a urinal, since most firefighters in the 1970s were still male? I see remodeling if they ever have a woman at that station, just due to the shower unless they make the locker room off-limits to the opposite sex during showers.<<

In all the stations (quite a few) that I have visited including 127s, there are no urinals only toilets. Actually a commode room. 51s has quite a large room with a large corner shower. Yes, 51s on the Universal lot. The captain has a separate bathroom and shower.

127s also has a separate room for the captain, it's that door in the captain's office seen in the show. Not a closet but the captain's sleep quarters.

As for restroom vacilities. There are two showers and two commodes. We see only the door and the one shower in all but I think one eppy. I forget which one but you can see the second shower which is to the left of the sinks.

So, yes, you take your turn.

As for remodeling? Nope. The ones built in the 70s (I haven't been in one earlier that I can't say has been remodeled) all have the private commode rooms. One or two. Enough room in there for a man to move around in.

Oh, and the Apparatus bay is much larger then a two car garage. The width of the door is more like a three car garage size. Now, the depth of the Bay is long enough to have a tiller truck with lots of room to the back bay door. Lots of room.

127s is actually quite a large station. It is much longer then it is wide so you don't really get a sense of how large it is unless you've walked around it and been in it. There are more rooms and closets in it then you saw on the stage because they shrunk it when they built the Bay. They've got one heck of a toolroom/machine shop. You can see that door right next to the Bay door in most of the eppies shot in the back parking lot of the station.

Hope that answers some of your questions.