American LaFrance revisited

 On this day, September 6, 1980 I happened to be passing through Caribou, Maine on my way back to Halifax from Quebec. The Caribou Fire Department had their all American LaFrance fleet out on the apron, and I was lucky enough to get the following photos:

No.1

No.2

No.3

No.4

No.8

pump panel for No.3

Some departments were still running open top "bathtub" cab LaFrances in those days, but Maine's winters likely discouraged that practice. The 'sedan cab" was a rarity by the 1980s. The long hood, with bell mount, covered a straight eight gasoline engine.

No.3

Seeing Red - Part 1 - Chev and GMC

Back when General Motors built a steel tilt cab (1960 to 1981) they marketed Chevrolet and GMC versions that were virtually identical, with only one slight revisions in trim over the years. Sometimes called the L series it had a 72 inch BBC measurement. Never as popular as its direct competitor the Ford C series, or even the later International, it did see many sales to fire departments until closed crew cabs became the norm.

I spotted one survivor of the series today:

Now in the hands of a collector and possible restorer, this Chev ended its working career with a hog farmer in Canning, NS, but is likely a veteran of some Annapolis Valley fire department. The steel cab appears to have survived well. It is the only one I have seen recently, but back in the 1980s and 1990s I saw plenty:

Most of the trucks I saw of this type were straight trucks, but Seagrave built this tractor perhaps in 1965 to tow a 1952 Seagrave tiller steer trailer. Note the "tilt cab" on the trailer - it tilts sideways to access the aerial ladder. Hanover Fire Department, Newark, Ohio ran this rig.

Hantsport, NS had this GMC / Thibault on their roster in 1983.

Annapolis Royal, NS ran a GMC / Pierreville pumper/tanker in 1985.

Chester Basin VFD had a GMC / King-Segrave version in 1987.

 Chatham, NB had a pair of these tilt cabs in 1985, one a GMC/ Thibault running as engine 1,

and the other a GMC / Pierreville as engine 5.

Not all red trucks were fire trucks. Esso Petroleum Canada operated this 1970 GMC refueler at the Halifax airport for many years.

Kelly's Towing from Grand Pré, NS operated a Chev in 1986. The elaborate pinstriping hints at a fire department history for this truck. The theme was repeated on the tow body, which appears to have been the survivor of a previous truck.

Of course not all fire apparatus is red.

 Les Eboulements, QC still had this lime Chev / Pierreville in service in 1996. [see their current pumper tanker in my September 8, 2018 post].

Nowadays when every other truck is painted factory white, a white truck doesn't stand out, but at one time there were several departments that ran white apparatus.

 In 1997 Dickinson, NY VFD had this handsome GMC on their roster. Note that it is a high mount cab (maybe to accommodate a diesel engine?), with canopy extension. The centre console pumper tanker is by Thibault (yes they exported to the US and overseas too) and dates from 1970.

 That arrangement necessitated a longer than normal wheelbase.

I posted more photos of these Chev GMC tilt cabs back in 2010 see: http://truckfax.blogspot.com/2010/03/chev-gmc-tilt-cab.html


To be continued.........

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Now for Dessert

What better way to enjoy a cone than from a Chevrolet Step Van. Particularly from one built in the days when they had rounded shapes.

This 1950s-1960s unit was likely built by Grumman on the Chev chassis with a few Chev grille components thrown in. It was pumping out the soft icecream in Bedford, Nova Scotia on July 17.

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More Valley Fire Apparatus

A visit to the Kentville Volunteer Fire Department revealed the answer to the riddle in the last posting, but a photo will have to wait for another time. The 1935 Chevrolet/Bickle, purchased new by the KVFD has been restored for parade duty, and is still in working order. It is housed in its own tiny bay, adjacent to the department's museum The latter included many interesting artifacts, including a couple of hose reel had carts and many photos and other memorabilia.
1. Ready to roll for a parade is the restored Chevrolet Bickle pumper.
In the apparatus bays the current operating units are at the ready-and an impressive lot they are:

2. Pumper No.7 is a 1050 gpm, 1990 Pierce Lance, built under license by Superior. (Superior was taken over by E-One in 1992, renamed E-One Canada in 2003 and closed in 2006. The "Superior" script over the rad was lost when E-One took over, as were the licensing agreements with Pierce and Smeal.)

3. Rescue No.4 is 2006 E-One.

4.Pumper No.3 is a 2000 Superior, 1500 gpm.

5. This International chassis tanker is in front line service.

6. A classic R model Mack dating from 1977, is the back-up tanker.

7. Ladder No.1 is this impressive E-One.

8. Newest unit in the fleet is this 2010 Pierce Velocity, 1750 gpm pumper. It has an enclosed operator's station amidships.

Kentville, Nova Scotia - worth a visit.

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