Presented by Southern California ATHS Member Don Forsyth
President of California Fire Museum - Safety Learning Center
The California Fire Museum Crew at our Southern CA ATHS 2021 annual show
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1902 American Steam Fire Engine, 2nd Size
Originally purchased in 1902 by Reno Fire Dept. as their Engine 1. This unit served Reno FD for many years. One of the California Fire Museum and Safety Learning Center founding members found this rig in 1991 in Fallbrook CA. in a barn of a Railroad buff and collector. The rig was only 40% complete. 3 members of CFM-SLC had previously agreed to put $5000 each, together to find and purchase a Steamer. When Dave and Barbara Hubert round this vehicle, and finding it was only 40% complete two of the members decided it was not worth purchasing due to the lack of vision of how the vehicle could be used, only 40% complete, and without the Fire Pump which was part of what was missing. They felt it would be like taking a car to a car show, and opening the hood, only to find the motor missing from this fantastic restored car.
Barbara secretively purchased this for Dave’s Anniversary Present, and had it delivered to his driveway to be found by Dave that morning of his anniversary, 1991. Dave quickly began researching the vehicle for any markings, serial #’s etc. Dave found markings for Reno FD, and traveled to Reno to further research, finding the vehicle was decommissioned and parted in 1920, with parts going different ways. Dave’s research found about 1920 this rig was decommissioned by Reno FD, and parts were sold for other purposes.
The Fire Pump was sold to the City of Oakland for use as a Fire Pump to be located on the City Docks as a Fire Pump, connected to an gasoline powered motor. After traveling to Oakland and further research, Dave found that at some point, years later the pump and motor were sold to the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad for use on a flat bed car, used on the rail line from Sacramento to Reno, on the last car of the train, right in front of the Caboose Car. As the train entered the Snow Sheds along the Sierra Nevada Mountain Donner Pass, the engineer would signal the caboose to staff the Fire Pump Car, with the Fire Pump attached to the gasoline motor, and a large water tank, and railroad fire staff would staff hose lines to extinguish any fires started by the Steam Train Engine blowing clinkers of coal on the underside of the all wood snow sheds.
At about the same time as the vehicle being sold for parts, another private collector purchased the remaining parts of the Steam Fire Engine and moved them to Fallbrook to his train barn, where Dave and Barbara found it listed for sale, after meeting the owner at a Steam Vehicle Event in San Diego County.
Dave and his son spent the next 5 year restoring the vehicle to original status, as found from pictures from Reno FD. He had to have many missing parts manufactured, after an agreement with Los Angeles Fire Museum to remove their parts from an identical 1900’s American Steam Fire Engine, have them manufactured and reinstalled first to Los Angeles City Engine, before rebuilding his own Steamer.
After numerous attempts to find the Pump, Dave had given up hope. While Dave and Barbara were visiting the Cal. State Fair in Sacramento around 1993, Dave wanted to visit the Railroad Museum in Sacramento. On a Sunday, while nonchalantly walking through the Railroad Museum Dave passed a glass case enclosure and realized inside the case was what looked like a Fire Steam Engine Fire Pump. Getting excited about his find, and considering he knew his vehicle’s pump was owned by the Railroad, he came back on Monday to discuss with the Curator of the Museum his thoughts. Low and Behold, it was the exact pump, confirmed by serial numbers Dave had found in other research, that belonged to Dave’s Engine. As recorded in a professionally done Video CD Documentary of the first 20 years of the Steamer, it is noted that after many negotiations with the Railroad Museum over several years, a sizable donation was made to the Museum to acquire the pump, and it was finally restored to it’s original Fire Steam Engine!
Dave went through extensive efforts to become a practicing Boiler Engineer, have the boiler certified as operable, and restored his rig over 5 years of hard work, to operable condition, with a frame up restoration. Dave, being an artist by trade before being a Firefighter in OCFD for many years, painted the rig as original as possible with very ornate gold leafing, lettering, and artwork on each spoke of the 4 wheels, frame, coal bucket etc.
Fully restored in 1996, the 1902 Fire Steamer was christened at the San Juan Capistrano Mission, and was immediately entered into the San Juan Capistrano Swallows Days Parade, which it has been entered every year since 1996 to present. This same vehicle, with it’s Steamer Team has been in the Pasadena Rose Parade 11 times, the Bishop Mule Day’s Parade many years, featured on Jay Leno’s Garage TV Series, and participated in an average of 50 to 70 events per year since 1996. This is the only Steam Fire Engine fully operational, that is found on the streets, highways, and events throughout California. The Steamer is pumped for demonstrations at various events throughout the state of California on average 5 times a year. This all requires a dedicated team to tend the Purcheron Horses to pull the vehicle, and provide all the volunteer work to make the Steamer Team a professional organization, requiring many helpers every event. The rig and team was involved in the recent remake of the Film, “The Great Chicago Fire of 1871” as well as many other films, and events, and the absolute STAR of it’s own for professionally filmed TV Documentary still available for purchase from www.HubiePictures.com, that covers it’s first 20 years of restoration and service back to the community.
Dave and Barbara and family have placed this vehicle into their Family Trust, to be provided to the California Fire Museum and Safety Learning Center once the complex is built at the Orange County Great Park, on their 5 acres which is soon to be built.
Barbara secretively purchased this for Dave’s Anniversary Present, and had it delivered to his driveway to be found by Dave that morning of his anniversary, 1991. Dave quickly began researching the vehicle for any markings, serial #’s etc. Dave found markings for Reno FD, and traveled to Reno to further research, finding the vehicle was decommissioned and parted in 1920, with parts going different ways. Dave’s research found about 1920 this rig was decommissioned by Reno FD, and parts were sold for other purposes.
The Fire Pump was sold to the City of Oakland for use as a Fire Pump to be located on the City Docks as a Fire Pump, connected to an gasoline powered motor. After traveling to Oakland and further research, Dave found that at some point, years later the pump and motor were sold to the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad for use on a flat bed car, used on the rail line from Sacramento to Reno, on the last car of the train, right in front of the Caboose Car. As the train entered the Snow Sheds along the Sierra Nevada Mountain Donner Pass, the engineer would signal the caboose to staff the Fire Pump Car, with the Fire Pump attached to the gasoline motor, and a large water tank, and railroad fire staff would staff hose lines to extinguish any fires started by the Steam Train Engine blowing clinkers of coal on the underside of the all wood snow sheds.
At about the same time as the vehicle being sold for parts, another private collector purchased the remaining parts of the Steam Fire Engine and moved them to Fallbrook to his train barn, where Dave and Barbara found it listed for sale, after meeting the owner at a Steam Vehicle Event in San Diego County.
Dave and his son spent the next 5 year restoring the vehicle to original status, as found from pictures from Reno FD. He had to have many missing parts manufactured, after an agreement with Los Angeles Fire Museum to remove their parts from an identical 1900’s American Steam Fire Engine, have them manufactured and reinstalled first to Los Angeles City Engine, before rebuilding his own Steamer.
After numerous attempts to find the Pump, Dave had given up hope. While Dave and Barbara were visiting the Cal. State Fair in Sacramento around 1993, Dave wanted to visit the Railroad Museum in Sacramento. On a Sunday, while nonchalantly walking through the Railroad Museum Dave passed a glass case enclosure and realized inside the case was what looked like a Fire Steam Engine Fire Pump. Getting excited about his find, and considering he knew his vehicle’s pump was owned by the Railroad, he came back on Monday to discuss with the Curator of the Museum his thoughts. Low and Behold, it was the exact pump, confirmed by serial numbers Dave had found in other research, that belonged to Dave’s Engine. As recorded in a professionally done Video CD Documentary of the first 20 years of the Steamer, it is noted that after many negotiations with the Railroad Museum over several years, a sizable donation was made to the Museum to acquire the pump, and it was finally restored to it’s original Fire Steam Engine!
Dave went through extensive efforts to become a practicing Boiler Engineer, have the boiler certified as operable, and restored his rig over 5 years of hard work, to operable condition, with a frame up restoration. Dave, being an artist by trade before being a Firefighter in OCFD for many years, painted the rig as original as possible with very ornate gold leafing, lettering, and artwork on each spoke of the 4 wheels, frame, coal bucket etc.
Fully restored in 1996, the 1902 Fire Steamer was christened at the San Juan Capistrano Mission, and was immediately entered into the San Juan Capistrano Swallows Days Parade, which it has been entered every year since 1996 to present. This same vehicle, with it’s Steamer Team has been in the Pasadena Rose Parade 11 times, the Bishop Mule Day’s Parade many years, featured on Jay Leno’s Garage TV Series, and participated in an average of 50 to 70 events per year since 1996. This is the only Steam Fire Engine fully operational, that is found on the streets, highways, and events throughout California. The Steamer is pumped for demonstrations at various events throughout the state of California on average 5 times a year. This all requires a dedicated team to tend the Purcheron Horses to pull the vehicle, and provide all the volunteer work to make the Steamer Team a professional organization, requiring many helpers every event. The rig and team was involved in the recent remake of the Film, “The Great Chicago Fire of 1871” as well as many other films, and events, and the absolute STAR of it’s own for professionally filmed TV Documentary still available for purchase from www.HubiePictures.com, that covers it’s first 20 years of restoration and service back to the community.
Dave and Barbara and family have placed this vehicle into their Family Trust, to be provided to the California Fire Museum and Safety Learning Center once the complex is built at the Orange County Great Park, on their 5 acres which is soon to be built.
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1900 Fire Hose Wagon
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1900 Fire Hose Wagon, originally purchased by Portland, OR. Fire Dept. and operated for many years as Hose Wagon #4 out of their Fire Station 4, along with their horse drawn Steam Fire Engine Company. The vehicle made its way in an unknown year to the Ponderosa Ranch, for use with the Bonanza TV Series. This vehicle was featured during at least one of the episodes of Bonanza with all of the Cartwright men responding to a fire on this vehicle during the episode.
In early 2015, this Fire Hose Wagon was donated by a newer owner of the Ponderosa Ranch, who was liquidating many of the collection of vehicles, many acquired from the Harrah’s Car Museum, to the California Fire Museum and Safety Learning Center. The CFM-SLC commissioned Dave Hubert who had previously restored the 1902 American Steamer, to fully research and restore this 1900 Fire Hose Wagon. As you’ll see, this vehicle was taken down to bare metal, and bare wood, fully restored, with some wood spoked wheels needing to be rebuilt, and finally decorated with paint, gold leave, artwork to match exactly to the 1902 Steam Fire Engine, so it could be run as matching 2 piece Fire Companies simulating response as it’s days of old! Notice the fine artwork on the wheel spokes of this wagon and the steamer. Once fully restored this vehicle and the 1902 American Steam Fire Engine are used in many civic parades, and other events, sometimes being hauled on the CFM-SLC 1975 American La France Hauler and other times on smaller trailers! Coincidently, in the picture of the Bonanza Stars, the Cartwights on this rig, the red fire helmet worn by Hoss played Dan Blocker, is currently located in the Los Angeles Fire Dept. Fire Museum, with this same exact picture as part of their display! CFM-SLC has made attempts to acquire the helmet to go along with our display of this excellently restored and fully operational 1900 Fire Hose Wagon. |
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1919 Peter Pirsch and Company/Winter Motor Truck
75’ 4 X 4 Fire Ladder Truck
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This Ladder Truck is very rare, purchased and ordered July 3, 1919 by the Virginia , Minnesota Fire Department. (See Purchase Order) Rare because this truck is believed to be one of only 3 built with the rear Tiller Bucket and Steering Wheel being outside the main ladder bay, over the right rear wheel well, instead of on top in the center of the ladder bed. This makes it impossible for the driver sitting in this Tiller Bucket Seat to see anything on the left side of he vehicle while moving. Soon after these 3 vehicles were placed into service, the design changed, and has remained up until present with Fire Ladder Trucks having the Rear Tiller Bucket and Steering Wheel directly in the center of the vehicle, over the rear of the ladder bed. This vehicle is somewhat unusual as it is not an articulating vehicle, or semi-truck-trailer, but still has the rear driver. Few Straight Chassis Fire Vehicles were built with the rear drivers position provided. The rear overhang of ladders extends 16 ft. past the rear axle. The Chassis was built by Winther Motor Trucks of Kenosha Wisconsin, and the Fire Works was added by Peter Pirsch and Sons Fire Apparatus also of Kenosha Wisconsin. First operating within the Virginia, Minnesota Fire Dept. as their first ladder truck. After about 12 years, this vehicle was sold to Northfield Fire Dept. also of Minnesota. Following use for several years, and both Fire Departments realizing the dangers of driving this vehicle without proper vision by the rear drive, the vehicle was purchased by Harrah’s Car Collection and moved to the Museum in Reno, Nevada. During the filming of the Bonanza TV Series, the 1919 Ladder Truck was purchased, and moved to the Ponderosa Ranch, and possibly used for the filming of the Bonanza TV Series. In 2016 the Ladder Truck was donated along with several other vehicles to the California Fire Museum and Safety Learning Center. Upon delivery of this vehicle to our Shop Facility, it was determined that almost every single item on the Purchase Order document, is still on the vehicle. During 2019 and 2020, thanks to members of ATHS SCC, Jerry Lee, Frank Ball and David Kabbai, we were able to refurbish several motor parts, and got this 100 year old vehicle running again, and it purred like a kitten! (See videos) |
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1945 Seagrave Fire Engine - Emerald Bay's First Engine
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1945 Seagrave Fire Engine - Emerald Bay's First Engine 1945 Seagrave Triple Combination Pumper 750 GPM pump 400 gallon water tank. Powered by the original Seagrave V-12 motor with dual ignition and dual carburetors with 24 spark plugs. This restored 1945 fire engine started its career with the US Navy on the Island of Guam during World War 2. After the war and a short stint of service to the Navy, it was loaded on a barge to be shipped to California as surplus, unfortunately it fell overboard into the ocean. After being retrieved, it finally made its way to Port Hueneme, where it was sold in 1951 to the Emerald Bay Volunteer Fire Department for $5,000.00. In July 1952 Orange County took over fire protection for Emerald Bay and maintained the volunteer force. At the same time this engine was reconditioned and fully outfitted at the County Shops. After passing all its pump tests she was placed in service as the first due responding engine in Emerald Bay and the surrounding area. During the `50s and `60s she saw action on all the major wildland fires in Orange County with many mutual aid responses into the City of Laguna Beach. In 1965 she was demoted to the second due engine when a new Crown Firecoach engine was delivered. As "second due" she still was busy on some of the largest wildland fires in Orange County's history including the Paseo Grande 1967 and Trabuco 1970. In March 1973 our Seagrave went into "reserve" status serving 5 more years. In 1979 She was retired from active duty after 34 years of faithful service. She remained with the OCFD as a parade engine but soon fell in to disrepair. In 2012 the California Fire Museum was able to acquire this old Seagrave and a generous donor was found to restore it to her old glory. Through the generous donation from Dan McKenna, a resident of Emerald Bay, a frame off restoration was completed in 2019. She is now owned and lovingly cared for by the members of the California Fire Museum Safety Learning Center.
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1972 American La France 75’ Fire Ladder Truck
The Hauler was formerly a 1972 American La France 75’ Fire Ladder Truck which is believed to have served at Shaker Heights, OH Fire Dept. The rig was purchased by Dr. David Risch from Los Angeles, shipping it out here to LA. It was converted in about 2010, by Hodges Haulers in Los Angeles, completely refurbished with the new hauler design, overhauled the Diesel Motor, Allison Automatic Transmission, completely stripped down to bare metal, repainted and rechromed. The vehicle has a built in 15,000 lbs winch, deck lighting, clearance lights, and built in ratcheted tie down straps. It still seats 5 people. This vehicle was donated to the California Fire Museum and Safety Learning Center in Orange County, CA. in 2018. CFM-SLC currently uses this Hauler regularly to transport many of it’s smaller vehicles to various parades, shows, and civic events.
1957 GMC Rescue Truck
The vehicle on the back in the picture (bottom right corner) is a 1957 GMC Rescue Truck, on a 1 Ton Chassis, with dual rear wheels, formerly owned by the Orange County Fire Dept. First serving Doheny, CA, (Dana Point now) from 1957 to 1972, then to La Palma Fire Station of OCFD 1972 to 1980. In 1980 it was purchased by the La Palma Police Dept. as their very first SWAT Truck, where it remained in various assignments with he LPPD, until it was donated to the California Fire Museum and Safety Learning Center in 2012. It is completely original, motor has only 17,500 original miles, and all original emergency lighting etc. We recently found another similar vehicle of the 14 owned by OCFD in the 50’s to 70’s, and acquired the original compartmentation and one bench seat in the rear compartment. So this rig now has gone through an $10,000 refurbishment, repainted, and lettered back to original 1957 Fire Dept. look, and CFM-SLC has completely outfitted this Rescue Vehicle with exact period equipment that was carried on this rig while in service. OCFD ran about 14 of these vehicles, and 6 had a small 150 gpm PTO pump, with 200 gal. water tank, with a hose real under the rear bumper.
