The 1929 American LaFrance Fire Engine

While walking through Charlottetown, we passed the city’s fire station and found this magnificent old fire engine sitting outside. Its polished brass, open cab and brilliant red body immediately caught my attention. Unlike many pieces of historic firefighting equipment that have disappeared into museums, this one remains with the fire department whose earlier generations once used equipment like it to protect the city.

The engine dates from 1929, a period of enormous change in firefighting. Only a few decades earlier, Charlottetown firefighters had depended upon hand-pulled equipment and horse-drawn steam engines. During the early 20th century, those gradually gave way to motorized pumpers capable of reaching fires faster and moving much larger quantities of water. The city’s own history describes this progression from hand-pulled hose reels to horse-drawn steam engines, chemical apparatus and eventually powerful motorized pumpers.

That evolution was particularly important in Charlottetown because the city understood the danger of fire all too well. The Charlottetown Volunteer Fire Department had been formally established in 1855. Just eleven years later, the Great Fire of 1866 devastated more than four city blocks. Other serious fires followed throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, making improvements in firefighting equipment far more than a matter of technological curiosity.

By the time this American LaFrance arrived in 1929, the experience of fighting a city fire had changed dramatically. Instead of waiting for horses to be harnessed to equipment, firefighters could climb aboard a motorized engine and respond immediately. A pumper like this could bring firefighting equipment directly to the scene and use its mechanically powered pump to deliver the volumes of water needed to attack a serious fire.

What I especially like is that Charlottetown’s firefighters have tried to preserve their own history. The department maintains a collection of historic apparatus, and firefighters have devoted countless volunteer hours to restoring antique engines so they can continue to be displayed to the public. The firefighters who climbed aboard engines like this one were doing essentially the same job as the firefighters working inside the station today. The equipment has changed dramatically, but the purpose has not.