A 1931 Dodge Brothers Hose and Ladder Truck. It was manufactured by Graham Bros., a Division of Chrysler Corp. in Windsor, Ontario. Windsor is just across the river from Detroit, MI.

This is a 1925 American La France "Foamite" pumper. Foamite was a patented powder which mixed with water to produce a fire-fighting gas said to be superior to the older sulphuric acid, soda and water.

The back of the Dodge Brothers truck shown above.

This is a "Fire Alarm Recorder" and was connected to a number of Call Boxes distributed around a city. When the lever of a box was pulled, the location of the alarm was punched into the tape. Then an alarm was sent to the appropriate firehouse.

This is an 1892 Halloway Horse-drawn Chemical Wagon.

A look at the two chemical tanks on the back. Each of these is essentially a big soda-acid extinguisher - one would be in use while the other was being charged.

This is a hand-drawn Chemical Wagon - also built in the 1890s. There was no mention of the rope "winch" on the front. I suppose with the narrow wheels, it might have been necessary to winch this thing over rough terrain.

This is a hand-drawn hand-engine made in the 1850s. A team of men would man the long wooden handles on each side and pump up-and-down to operate the water pumps.

This is an 1866 Hunneman Hose Reel - designed to carry 500-800 feet of leather hose and to be hand-drawn. (Hmmm. Wonder where they got a piece of leather that long?)

Another hand-drawn hose reel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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