American LaFrance Fire Engine Co.

AMERICAN LaFRANCE FIRE ENGINE CO. ELMIRA, N.Y. PHOTO ARCHIVE. The archive consist of 66 cyanotype photos of which only two are duplicates. Plus, one photo being a silver gelatin print. Each photo ( 8 x 10 inches) has a plaque leaning against the side of the engine on which is printed AMERICAN LaFRANCE FIRE ENGINE CO. ELMIRA, N.Y. followed by the Neg. #. Although all of the fire engines are identified according to the municipality for which they were assembled, due to the slant of the photo only 45 can be town identified. Of those identified, American LaFrance manufactured engines for Palm Beach; Greenwood Lake F.D. No. 1; Corvallis; Woodland Fire Dept.; Pauling Fire Dept.; Porterville, CALI; Ashville, N.C.; Las Vegas Fire Department; Walla Walla; Los Angeles, Engine C; Ogonomowoc (Wisc) Fire Department; Ukiah (CA) Fire Department; The Carlisle Fire Co. Milford, Del. Truck No. 1; Park Ridge, N.J. Fire Department; Pecos Fire Dept.; plus other towns. The archive dates to the early to mid 1920’s with one of the trucks, #5090, being identified as being a Type 40, built in 1923. Other varieties of engines represented are the Type 12, 20, 38, 48 and 75. Several of the photos show the large American LaFrance Aerial Ladder Truck.

The American LaFrance Fire Engine Company was formally established as the LaFrance Manufacturing Company in 1873 by Truxton Slocum LaFrance in Elmira, New York, By 1903 it became the American LaFrance Fire Engine Company and delivered it first motorized fire engine in 1907. The company would cease operations, after a series of different ownership’s, in 2014.

An interesting historical fact is that a 1921 American LaFrance Type 12 engine serial #3970 was the first motorized fire truck in Anchorage, Alaska. On November 23, 1922, a fire started in the Evans-Jonesville Coal Mine, in Sutton, AK. The mine was accessible by railroad and the primary source of coal for electricity and heating for Anchorage. The fire truck was loaded onto a rail car, and, along with the Fire Chief and a firefighter, was taken to the mine. It pumped for 13 days straight, only being shut down for oil changes and to change hose due to broken couplings. This was done in freezing weather.

Many of the photos have minor edge wear and toning. All the photos were initially in a 3-ring binder and thus punched for such. However this does not affect the photos. Very good contrast and in vg cond.

An important collection for the fire truck enthusiast and historian.