Whittier, CA Fire Department in 1904

found on http://www.vintag.es/2014/12/amazing-vintage-photographs-of-daily.html

Imagine getting the chance to buy your great-grand dads fire truck, the one he was the Fire Chief on

photos from a gallery of a couple dozen images you might want to see at http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/gallery/news/ford-model-t-fire-pumper/collection_867d52dc-c454-11e4-8033-c754830d5e0f.html?mode=jqm&pos=8

There is a video on http://videos.pressofatlanticcity.com/1921-Model-T-Fire-Truck-Back-in-West-Cape-May-28675714

Back in 1921 Chuck McPherson’s great-grandfather, Bill Eldredge was the fire chief of the West Cape May Volunteer Fire Company, and spearheaded the effort to get a Model T pumper fire truck, Ford made the cab and chassis, but then the company had to bring the chassis to the Hale Fire Pump Co. in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, for installation of the pump and other outfitting work.

Recently, a fire truck collector called Chuck and offered him first chance to buy it. Chuck is the possibly 4th generation fire fighter, his great grand dad was fire chief in 1921, his grand father joined the fire dept in 1937.

While modern pumpers carry at least 1,000 gallons of water, the Model T has a 60-gallon tank. It could be set to draft from a lake or other water source, while another option was using a bucket brigade to keep filling the tank through a “slop feed” on the top.

If they had to go in a house, a handy Dietz kerosene lantern hung on back of the truck for interior lighting.

For more of the story: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/west-cape-fire-department-gets-model-t-pumper-back/article_3050c0b4-c603-11e4-abea-8f4757f5eb4b.html

1948 Dodge fire truck

Detroit Fire Department, 1921, Packard

Found on http://www.mychurchgrowth.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/1921-Packard-Fire-Truck-Detroit-Fire-Dept.jpg

Great old fire truck getting assembled, look at those bucket seats and bell

Found on Shorpy.com 

fire stations still had steam pumpers hanging out in back, though they had new fire engines

Found on http://www.shorpy.com/node/18056?size=_original#caption

often on Shorpy the commentors are very highly focused on the details and point out some cool things you might not notice... in this photo, they noticed that the steam pumper is facing the back of the room, probably because it's retired, and that the fire truck is a Seagrave from about 1916, and look at the really bad tire rubber on the left front.

early Knox truck adding motive power to the ladder wagon about 100 years ago

Found on https://www.facebook.com/groups/Fordmodelt/

If you want to look through some other very early fire fighting vehicles that were bridging the gap from horse drawn to motor powered, http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-transition-of-steam-pumper-from.html

the cemetery of fire trucks at Saint Barbe

Found on https://www.facebook.com/DarkTazPhotography?fref=photo
and https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.638883809504116.1073741889.193626194029882&type=1

In 1990, several departments wanted to part with their old fire engines, without selling to the public. The goal was that these vehicles become a museum. A warehouse was secured and each department of the 4 corners of France brought their old truckes to be stored, repaired and sent to different museums.

In 2002, the studio temporarily closed for lack of funding. An association restarted it a year later. Only 18 months after, it closed the doors again. Some vehicles too damaged went to the landfill, and those in better condition went to another storage site in the event that a museum in Belgium might open its doors in 2009.

Of course there is a lack of aid and subsidies and the museum never opened despite the contribution of a private collector. Fire trucks are very expensive to restore. But hope is reborn, and in 2013, a museum that may theoretically open in 2014 near the Swiss border has spoken up and might give them a good home.