You forgot, the one with the bow tie is the officer of the group, company. The official representative of the fire/city or insurance company. They "directed" the operations at the scene till relieved of duty by a senior manager.

Notice the boots look to be made of leather as opposed to rubber. Leather is making a come back today as most calls are now medical calls as opposed to fire calls. The bunker pants appear to be of a jeans material as opposed to the nomesx used today .,I can't wait to see the rest of this series.

I can't figure out the double exposure effect of the window slits superimposed on the fireman's shirt, as well as the odd bulge in the window shade behind him. It also looks like someone parked their fresh cigar on a wooden window sill.

[The camera's shutter was open longer than the flash burst, so the sliver of bright light coming through the window registered on the film before or after the fireman was in the spot at which he was captured by the flash. -tterrace]

when I was eleven years old. A couple of friends and I were passing the local firehouse in Brooklyn when, noticing the open overhead door and absence of the two fire trucks, we decided to go on an unguided tour of the building. Upon reaching the second-floor living quarters, a booming voice from an unseen presence yelled out, "What the hell are you doing in here?"

While my pals went the slower, stairway route to the street level, I chose the expedient of the fire pole, which was a few steps closer to me. I don't remember making ANY contact with the pole, but I was surprised to discover the automatic clamshell mechanism, opened by downward pressure on the pole, that was designed to prevent objects or personnel from falling through the floor.

Guess who was about halfway down the block before the two laggards even emerged from the building?

That firehouse was (is) the home of Engine 205/Ladder 118, which lost eight of its members on 9/11/01.

This guy was having too much fun!

Why would one wear a white shirt and bow tie to a fire?

[Period photos often show fire department officers - chiefs, captains, battalion chiefs - in ties at fire scenes. Frequently in protective overclothes, but still in ties. -tterrace]

That must mean that the old card playing cuties of 1941 series is truly over. The ladies apparently exposed all there was to reveal. Then again, the firemen may be getting a 19 year head start to see what all the heat was about. Anything is possible in time travel.

Notice they have their arm hooked or wrapped around the pole. The other arm grabbing the first and by squeezing a braking effect can be achieved. The highly polished pole was never touched as the skin oils would snag the mandatory long sleeve shirts. A slow sprint to the pole, a slight jump and hook the pole causing a mild rotation while descending then squeeze to slow near the bottom.