American La France was the nation’s largest maker of custom apparatus in the 1920s, and the Type 12 was probably its most popular model with city fire departments.  It used a 1,000 gallon per minute rotary gear pump driven by a six cylinder engine that generated well over 100 horsepower and a considerable amount of torque, the twisting power that really defines an engine’s capabilities.  American La France built its own engines because commercial truck engines usually lacked the torque and the endurance to drive a stationary 1000 gpm fire pump for hours at a time without overheating or damaging pistons, connecting rods and valves.  In its advertisements La France printed a letter from a fire chief in Alaska who had pumped his Model 12 at a mine fire for three days in freezing temperatures, stopping only to change engine oil and replace broken sections of hose.  His Type 12 drafted water from a murky tailings pond and pumped it over 1,000 feet to the seat of the fire.  A performance of this scope would tax the capability of a modern engine. 

American La France Type 40 Chemical Car.  1924.  The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad bought this “chemical car” as a quick response rig to attack grass fires along the train tracks near its San Bernardino, California yards.  A rig like this is designed to get to a fire in its earliest stages and get its 40 gallons of water (propelled by carbon dioxide gas) into action while the fire is small.  It can also carry over a thousand feet of large diameter 2 ½ inch hose, which could be used by another fire engine, or which could be connected to a hydrant.  Apparently there were very few grass fires, since this truck has less than 170 miles on its odometer.  The poor condition of the hard rubber tires resulted from the long hours spent exposed to the California sun.  The Santa Fe Railroad restored the rig during the 1950s, possibly for advertising, and moved it to Topeka, Kansas.  Mr. Getz, a long - time board member of the Santa Fe, purchased it in 1970 from the railroad and later donated it to the Hall of Flame. 

Seagrave "Standard"  Fire Engine.  1927.  The Seagrave Fire Apparatus Company of Columbus, Ohio built this 750 gallon per minute pumper for the town of  Downers Grove, Illinois.  Seagrave pioneered the centrifugal pump, now the standard for the world's fire services.  Centrifugals are high speed pumps, well matched to the speed of the internal combustion engine.  Rotary and piston pumps used by other firms were well adapted to low speed steam engines but required large reduction gear boxes to work with gasoline engines.  Centrifugals had other advantages, including simplicity, ease of maintenance and resistance to damage from gritty water.  Centrifugal pumps could also take advantage of the pressure available from a hydrant.  Most hydrants supplied water at from 40 to 80 pounds per square inch.  An engine with a centrifugal pump started operations with this pressurized water before even engaging the pump.  Engines with rotary or piston pumps did not enjoy this advantage. By 1940 all but a few American engines were built with centrifugal pumps. 

Seagrave City Service Ladder Truck. 1928.  Seagrave began as a manufacturer of ladders for Michigan cherry orchards.  This tradition is evident with the eight high quality ladders carried by this truck.  In 1962 its chemical tanks and hose were replaced by a generator and searchlights.  Originally owned by Urbana, Illinois, it was bought in 1950 by the town of Downers Grove, Illinois. City Service trucks carried a variety of  ladders and tools.  With a complement of 4 to 12 firemen, truck companies made rescues and salvaged whatever was possible while the engine company attacked the fire with charged hoselines. 

Mack / Holloway Ladder and Chemical Truck.  1922.  The Baltimore Fire Department bought several Mack "Bulldog" trucks from the Army after World War I.  In 1922 the Department’s Maintenance Shops matched this 1919 Type AC Mack with a Holloway horse drawn ladder/chemical wagon built around 1885. The truck went into service at Ladder Company 24 in 1923 and remained in use until 1952.  As late as 1960 fire departments used escape nets like the one on this truck.  Many firemen injured themselves while trying to make rescues with the net, and many of the people who tried to jump into the nets missed and suffered injury or death.  For these reasons the nets were retired from service.  

Don Hale restored the truck to its original condition in 1989.