I have this one from childhood! I like it!

Sounds more like a Coast Guard set than a firefighter one! Cute name, even if it doesn’t make any sense

Gotta go out out those snorkel fires ya know

I had this as a kid, and it was a favorite. I loved that it had sone of those Classic Space robot arms, but in white! I had a bunch of gray and black ones, but somehow missed any space sets with white arms.

Then there was the great functionality of it. The ladder was fun to set up, and all the equipment in the little containers was fun to set out. Just an absolute blast to play with as a kid.

I picked up the recent “remake” a few years ago purely fir the nostalgia, and it does not disappoint.

@MCLegoboy said:
"What, are they supposed to fight the rare underwater fires?"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrothermal_vent
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_volcano
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaqueous_volcano

@TheOtherMike said:
"Per Wikipedia: "Snorkel may refer to... An aerial platform for fire engines." So there you have it,"

Having a father who was a fire fighter, the snorkel appliances referred to the ones with an extendible ladder with a nozzle at the top, though that was in the late 70’s, early 80’s before the cherry picker style ones came about.

Weird name, but awesome set! This just has to be one of the coolest fire trucks Lego has ever made.

@TheOtherMike said:
"Per Wikipedia: "Snorkel may refer to... An aerial platform for fire engines." So there you have it,"

Huh. I was going to make a snarky comment but that little tidbit made me go look up the word. Apparently it’s German, means “snout” or “snore”…
Still not entirely sure how that gets us to “firefighters aerial platform”. Is it simply because it’s an extended tube and I’m just overthinking things?

@Brickalili said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"Per Wikipedia: "Snorkel may refer to... An aerial platform for fire engines." So there you have it,"

Huh. I was going to make a snarky comment but that little tidbit made me go look up the word. Apparently it’s German, means “snout” or “snore”…
Still not entirely sure how that gets us to “firefighters aerial platform”. Is it simply because it’s an extended tube and I’m just overthinking things?"

It's not uncommon for terms to be utilized with seemingly tenuous connection to their most commonly thought of definitions. Of course, I don't have any good examples to back that up now that I need them, so make of it what you will.

My first LEGO set. I remember that Christmas Eve in 1988 when I got it, we were happy kids together with my elder brother thanks to our parents, those were simplier times. Played with it a lot, it has some cool functions and accessories and still have it with box and instructions.

Comic Book Guy: "Worst. Hero Team Name. EVER.":)

Still, would rather have THOSE helmets...although I'm confused: all figs are wearing white...shouldn't that be reserved for, say; a Fire Chief, or at least the Dept. Fire Chief and the regular Firefighters wear red or yellow (neighboring city to mine use the latter) or even black (though I'd imagine that would be phased out, could be wrong)...the silver and gold one? Commissioners? Inspectors? Marshalls? Just off-the-top-of-my-head:)

Got one of these in a eBay LEGO lot, really neat little set (then again most of the Fire fighting sets were back then)

@Brick_r Helmet colour depends on the region, in South Australia white is a general fire fighter, with yellow for higher rank then red.

Theres a bit of a "Thunderbirds" vibe going on with the look of this set... Nice.

@TheOtherMike said:
" @AllenSmith: The kind of trike in 6324 is frequently referred to as a "chopper," so that name isn't nonsensical, either. I'm still at it!"
There's definitely a type of motorcycle called a chopper, but that isn't one, at least as far as my past attempts to research that set name have found. Trike Motorcycles are real, but a chopper is a completely unrelated concept: at least according to how Wikipedia describes them:

"A chopper employs modified steering angles and lengthened forks for a stretched-out appearance. They can be built from an original motorcycle which is modified ("chopped") or built from scratch.… To be considered a chopper a motorcycle frame must be cut and welded at some point. I.e. the name chopper."
Since Lego motor trikes are standardized pieces, it's hard to believe that all the minifigures who own them decided to custom-chop all their off-the-shelf motorcycles in the exact same way. So choppers they are not.

@Brickalili
@Spritetoggle
Apparently Snorkel is a trademark of the Snorkel Fire Equipment Company. Snorkel's website makes no mention of the baffling transference of the word to a fire platform. fire.fandom.com only mentions that the newly-developed articulating, plumbed boom "soon received the nickname 'snorkel'", and the company was then named after it. You would really think *somebody* would have wondered why this happened!

@AllenSmith

This is truly a bizarre rabbit hole we’re all going down, but at least we’re on this journey together XD

Fun little set. Yes, it's the umpteenth fire engine. But it's from Town and has that fun charm. And to be fair, back then there weren't nearly as many fire department sets and they weren't as disproportionate in the overall lineup (to be fair, in 2022 we're finally getting a lot more civilian stuff).

And those wheels on it are so cute!

Great set. My story about this one was the local toy shop still had one of these well past the date it was no longer in the catalogue, and put it in the area where all the “old stock” was placed before being disposed of to who knows where. I discreetly grabbed it, put it back on the shelf behind that years releases, and went to get it a week later when it was fortunately still where I had left it.

Matched the 6361 crane really nicely.

@Spritetoggle said:
"Remember kids:

If a choice of words or features strikes you as weird, but it comes from a source you'd think should have their facts straight... Research! You might just learn something cool!

*Radical Saturday morning action cartoon music plays*"
The more you know!

@AllenSmith: I'll freely admit to not knowing much about motorcycles, and it's entirely possible the person who named 6324 didn't either.

I always wanted to get this set. I had 6690 which was part of the snorkel squad. Awesome set. Would have been a great match!

About the chopper cop name:
in the lego movie we get the line "Unleash the copper choppers!" and we get two vaguely motorcycle-like things, included in 70819 Bad Cop Car Chase (on the right).

Apparently it's just lego being lego?

Does no one else remember the Simon Snorkel fire trucks in the UK (which I am guessing links the name to this set)? They were awesome when I was a kid!

@brick_r:
Helmet and uniform colors vary by nation and sometimes even department. Black hides the soot better, but lighter colors probably make the firefighters easier to locate in a burning building when everything is covered in black soot. Some colors are probably also cheaper to make than others. Colors used to represent rank may be chosen because they're easier to spot, because someone _believes_ they're easier to spot, or because someone attached some particular significance to the color chosen.

@BricklingUK:
Nope. Not even a little bit.

I have 6690 Snorkel Pumper from 1980. I always assumed that "snorkel" referred to using a tube or hose to get the water from a tank or hydrant up to the platform, similar to using a swimming snorkel to get air from the surface to where it was needed.

The biggest problem with this vehicle in a lego town is that it didn't fit in the fire station garage. My fire brigade long withdrew the original fire engines while the buildings lived on. The general approach to parking was to have this sticking out of the front of the garage.

@560heliport said:
"I have 6690 Snorkel Pumper from 1980. I always assumed that "snorkel" referred to using a tube or hose to get the water from a tank or hydrant up to the platform, similar to using a swimming snorkel to get air from the surface to where it was needed."

I have that set too, but seeing this one makes me want to buy it as well. They would make a great pair.