This is a blog archives posting from September 14, 2014, and re-posted here as the original is unavailable due to technical issues.
Never heard of the Youngstown Fire Forums? That’s an extensive and active discussion board (or collection boards) operated by the Youngstown Fire Department in Ohio. The forum contains a lot of apparatus information, including threads with photos and details on particular makers and even particular rigs.
One of the site’s feature is a collection of apparatus delivery lists. Insert multiple exclamation points. Those lists are gold to fire historians. The listed makers include Ahrens-Fox, American, Boyer, FWD, John Bean, Mack (MB, MC, MR), Pierce, Stutz, and Sutphen. The list authors, who deserve heaps of recognition and appreciation, include Rodger Birchfield, Bill Friedrich, Ed Hass, Dave Organ, John Peckham, Greg Ricker, and Bob Studer.
(As a fellow butcher, baker, and obsessive list maker, these records often represent the proverbial “life’s work.” Hundreds if not thousands of hours are required to research, compile, and maintain. Every one of these companies predates the digital. Someone had to enter or transcribe this information into file formats.1)
Let’s take a look at some of the lists and what we can find…
Boyer
From the list by Rodger Birchfield, a number of early trucks were delivered in North Carolina, check the delivery list for full details. Apologies for errors, below are typed not copied and pasted.
Historian tip: Never re-type apparatus details if you can copy and paste from your source. Typing errors are terribly easy.
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As for the two local trucks? Here are those details:
- Angier – 4108 – 1925 Ford – 2 40Gal – Combination chemical hose car, probably, with two 40-gallon chemical tanks.
- Selma – 2954 – 1924 Reo – Hale 723 – 2 35Gal – Triple combination? With two 35-gallon chemical tanks.
Pierce
The lists (multiple, very long) by Bill Friedrich contain over 300 units delivered in North Carolina through 1996. First ten trucks, job number and department name only:
- E-0067 – LONG BEACH FD
- E-0155 – BAY LEAF FD
- E-0160 – WEST BUNCOMBE VFD
- E-0318 – ST.TIMOTHY FD
- E-0337 – ST.STEPHENS FD
- E-0387 – UNION ROAD VFD
- E-0388 – SWEPSONVILLE VFD
- E-0479 – WEST IREDELL VFD
- E-0547 – ROANOKE RAPIDS FD
- E-0625 – SUMMERFIELD FIRE DISTRICT
Stutz
The list by Rodger Birchfield has exactly one, for Greenville N.C., a 1922 Model “C” triple-combination with 750 GPM pump.
Sutphen
The monster list by Dave Organ contains these early rigs delivered in North Carolina:
| Job # | City | CO# | YR 1 | Chassis | GPM | GBT | LGTH | TYP |
| HS-1007 | Morganton | AT-704 | 1974 | Sutphen | 1250 | 300 | 85′ | ATQ |
| HS-1137 | Winston-Salem | A-1 | 1976 | Sutphen | 1250 | 150 | 85′ | ATQ |
| HS-1249 | Durham | L-2 | 1976 | Sutphen | 1500 | 200 | 85′ | ATQ |
| HS-1250 | Durham | L-3 | 1978 | Sutphen | 1500 | 200 | 85′ | ATQ |
| HS-1348 | Durham | E-4 | 1978 | Ford C | 1000 | 500 | ENG | |
| HS-1349 | Durham | E-5 | 1978 | Ford C | 1000 | 500 | ENG | |
| HS-1423 | Charlotte | L-2 | 1979 | Sutphen | 1000 | 300 | 100′ | ATQ |
| HS-1662 | Winston-Salem | E-4 | 1981 | Sutphen | 65′ | MMQ | ||
| HS-1764 | Bethesda FD | E-22 | 1984 | Sutphen | 1500TM | 1000 | ENG | |
| HS-1801 | Bethesda FD | L-3 | 1984 | Sutphen | 1500 | 300 | 100′ | ATQ |
| HS-2100 | Bethesda FD | E-2 | 1987 | Sutphen | 1500TM | 1000 | ENG | |
| HS-2237 | Wilmington | L-1 | 1988 | Sutphen | 1750 | 300 | 90′ | ATQ |
| HS-2365 | Greensboro | E-6 | 1989 | Sutphen | 1000 | 1000 | ENG |
1Then there’s all the time required for updates and corrections. Not every piece of data is “right” when received. The Mack MC list lists Raleigh’s 1979 MC tractor as pulling a 1956 ALF trailer. The correct year is 1958. Think about how many times that repeats itself, across one of these lists? Where some sends an update, or new or additional information? These are not projects for the faint-hearted!
Comments
Brian White – Seagate VFD New Hanover County had a Ford / Boyer 1987 1250 pump / 1000 tank.