TFD's Last Sister Rig

I received a surprise Facebook Message a few days ago.  It was from a man who will remain nameless for now (not that he is in hiding, but I don't have permission to share his name at the moment) who confirmed for me that Tacoma Fire does in fact still own one of the original eight 1970 American LaFrance pumpers from Engine 17's batch.

This revelation is cause enough for me to come back here to the blog after nearly two years for this update.

About a year and a half ago we had to move from our place in the country, as the Fire District decided to close the resident satellite station we had been living in while working for them since 2008.  It was a good long run that benefited us as well as the District, but leadership changed and the new electeds decided to go in a different direction.  Subsequent to them closing the station down, I retired from my 22 year fire career.  Still work full time at the power company, and am now the Director for a home school community in Vancouver.

The country abode was an ideal place to store E17 under cover, but that option went away.  Money is tight for us, and presently I am sad to say that E17 is stored outside in the weather.  Plans are afoot to move her back to Tacoma where a family member might be able to store her inside, but we're not sure when that might come to pass.

I have to admit, I've been sad to not be able to make any meaningful progress on her, and have entertained the thought of putting her up for sale or even giving her away if the right buyer faithful to her heritage came forward.  Not presently actively looking to rehome her, but if you are that right person or know who is, drop me a line.

In the meantime, I am hoping to get a chance to see Tacoma's last 1970 ALF pumper and maybe get some pictures.  Finding out one still exists and has not been extensively modified or abused by secondary owners is a godsend, this means that when there are questions about original equipment, this last rig will be a very reliable model to consult most of the time!  Word is, a bunch of guys are getting an effort together to start restoration on the last rig, so even though we aren't in a position to work on E17 meaningfully right now, we hopefully will be able to soon start reporting on the progress of this other restoration.  Stay tuned!

Dear old Engine 8 found

The entire tale of this blog starts with me growing up by Tacoma Station #8, and the special place in my heart for the 1970 American LaFrance 900 assigned there during my childhood.  The direct result of that, as well as other serendipitous events, was my coming into possession of Engine 17, one of the identical siblings of dear old Engine 8.

Engine 8 as I knew her was Tacoma Fire Shop #43, and she started her career in 1970 as Engine 5 at Station #5 in the Hilltop neighborhood.

Shop #43's first assignment at Hilltop Station #5
Photo: Richard Schneider via Thorsten Umbach

Just a few years later, Fire Station #4 near where the Tacoma Dome is today was permanently closed, and Fire Station #5 was renamed as #4.  Engine 4 kept its number and moved to the Hilltop station, and Shop #43 was reassigned to Fire Station #8.  Here is the only picture I have of Shop #43 at Station #8, and below is a much later picture of Station #8 as she appears today in retirement (a new Station #8 opened in 2003).

Shop #43 at Station #8 with my niece, circa ~1984
Photo: Mine

Historic Station #8 today
Photo: www.tacomadailyindex.com

Shop #43 was replaced in 1987 and moved to reserve status.  I would see her occasionally around town even when she was placarded with a different unit number, because no one ever painted over the large "8" on the rear center compartment door.  But it didn't last long.  Seems that all of the E17 sisters were sold off and gone from Tacoma by 1990 or so.

Where Shop #43 went after Tacoma sold her I don't know.  She may have gone on to serve another agency like Engine 17 did.  At this point all I know for sure is that at some point the sandwich shop Firehouse Subs obtained Shop #43 and repainted her to their signature Dalmation scheme for work down in Florida.  I have no idea how she got to Florida, if she was already there when they bought her, or they transported her there from somewhere else.  I got this picture from company reps back in 2010 - but at that point I did not know it was #43, I only knew that their rig was one of the E17 sisters.

Shop #43 as a marketing tool for Firehouse Subs, circa 2010
Photo: Mike Kelly, Firehouse Subs

This week I reached out to the SPAAMFAA community on Facebook to try to track down any of the other remaining E17 sisters.  The only other hint I have for any of them is one that was photographed around 2000 in Seattle, which brings us up to accounting for three of the eight sisters.  And then I started trolling the Internet for anything new since the last time I looked years ago.  What I came up with was a batch of photos of the Firehouse Subs engine, one of which was a clear shot of the rear compartments, .... and there in plain sight was my answer to which one she was.

Shop #43 looking pretty rough, January of 2013
Photo: Flickr user VinceFL

There she is, dear old Engine 8.  Now we know where she went.

Have to admit, the deterioration in condition from 2010 to 2013 is significant: Peeling red stripes, quite a bit of rust, flat tire (!).... kind of hard to look at.  Here are some more pictures from 'VinceFL' with some finishing effects applied to the images.

Yesterday I sent an email to the contacts I made with Firehouse Subs back in 2010 to see if they still have Shop #43, and if so how she is doing and where she is.  Not sure what I think I want to do with that info if she is still around.  She would be a much bigger project now than in 2010, and I haven't been able to make any realistic headway on the fire engine I already have!  But it would be nice to know.  Fingers crossed that she still has a future and isn't already gone.  Will post more when I know.

Sisters of Engine 17

Thanks to the community at FirePics.net, I have been able to secure photos of two of Engine 17's identical Tacoma sisters, and can finally share closer detailed examples of what she looked like before being painted white over lime green. However, in both cases, the pictures were taken late, so the period touches such as hand-lettered numbers and doors are long gone.

First we have a unit placarded as Engine 7, but if you look at the lower rear compartment you can see where the large decal "16" was either painted over or removed. Engine 7, as I recall, had one of the sisters at the same time Engine 16 did, and they were both replaced close together, in 1989, I think. If I had to guess, extending myself way into conjectureland, this photo is from around 1990, after both rigs had been replaced, and for whatever reason the new E7 was out for maintenance and old E16 was filling in as a reserve rig. There is evidence of body or paint damage, as the AO's compartment and left rear fender are a darker shade of red, as is the nose between the skirt and windshield. This pic does show, however, the Stang cannon and alternating red lights above the windshield that have disappeared from Engine 17. No idea where this rig is today, or if she still exists.

Photo Credit: "Big Dave"

Second is another of the sisters, but I have no idea which one she ever was. The owner of this photo indicated that the picture was taken around 2000, in Seattle. So, ten years ago, one of the sisters was accounted for there. What caught my eye quickly was that the hand-painted yellow trim lines are still on the rear compartment doors, when as far as I knew they had been removed from all the rigs when decals went into vogue. The Stang cannon is gone, the crosslays are empty, the Q2B is gone and replaced with something else. The silver paint over the rear wheel is not original, and the front bumper is pushed up slightly. The pump panel, however, has been "over-restored" with a sheet metal backing that is not original, and as far as I know was never done on one of these sisters while in Tacoma. I wish I knew the disposition of this engine.

Photos Credit: "Brian Birmingham"

Last up is an unrelated treat that also came up at FirePics. This is the 1976 American LaFrance Century Telesqurt that replaced my Engine 17 in 1976, and is the 17 that I remember from my childhood. Since this engine was #17 and bought in 1976 ("17, 76"), she was given distinctive bicentennial markings that included the blue stars on the roof and Squrt, and a "17" on the back of the Squrt circled with blue stars. I love the blue-painted electronic siren on the roof, I had forgotten that touch, and I had also forgotten (or never noticed before) that this engine also had yellow trim lines on her compartment doors like the 1970 batch. If you recall my interpretation of Station 17 history earlier in the blog, you'll remember that Truck 5 was supposed to have been started up there, but never happened. In 1976, this engine, along with Engine 11 (the other side of south Tacoma), were given Telesqurts, and I can only surmise that this was a compromise for never getting Truck 5 in service. No idea where this rig went after her Tacoma service.

Photo Credit: "Big Dave"

With the arrival of the new 17, my Engine 17 was reassigned for the first time, and would respond as Engine 9 for the next four years until being replaced by a Mack CF (one of Tacoma's first lime-yellow apparatus), and then would move to Station 10 for the next seven years to wrap up her Tacoma front-line career.

Bits and pieces...... bits and pieces.

Blast from the past

I've been in Tacoma for a few days, and even caught a structure fire with my sister, getting to help her out with the canteen unit. It was a very strange feeling for me, being right there after it was over, watching the guys drain and roll hose. You're not supposed to stand around when there's work to be done, and I repeatedly found myself absently going for a line to break couplings, drain, roll, collect SCBAs to clean up and refill, all that. No, not my agency, not dressed for it, but dang I sure felt bad standing around, kept waiting for someone to gripe about what the heck Frank is doing not helping, who does he think he is being lazy? Weird.

Anyway, today sister and I met this morning to try to catch Joe Stiles, who now works in Fire Prevention - whose offices are fittingly at the building which used to be the fire station where Engine 17 started out with Tacoma.

Luckily, Joe was there. I didn't tell him this when I was there, but I think I had about as much trouble recognizing him that he did with me. He figured out who I was because sister was right there, but he does not look nearly as old as I assumed he would. Joe said he was fixing to read this blog not even 15 minutes before we showed up unannounced, so he's undoubtedly going to read this: Dude, you have not aged a day... on the outside, anyway!

We actually caught a 2-for-1 out of it. Unknown to me, the also-legendary Brian Trunk is also there now, at the desk next to Joe's. What a trip on the wayback machine that was for me. And here we all are:

Sister, Me, Joe, Brian.

It was great to have a chance to meet them again after all this time, and apologize for being the goofball I was and all the trouble I caused. They were graceful and downplayed it, but I know there is more than one way to define "enthusiastic".

Sister also grabbed a shot of me standing where Engine 17 first responded from in 1970. But since this is office space now, only the apron ramp in front gives a clue that this used to be Station 17.

The flat nondescript wall gives little clue

that this used to be where E17 rolled out.

I made one more stop later that day, to try to catch Ben Baltazar at Station 6, where Joe said he worked. Wrong shift, missed him. But, just like at the fire the other night, it wasn't hard to find people who - even if they had never met me personally - still knew who I was. Two of the guys at 6's actually remembered me personally after all this time, and also gracefully excused my antics, but I was glad to be able to continue the Apology Tour 2010 even though it's been over 20 years. Amusingly, though, just as they might have seemed ready to accept me as normal, they found out I bought an old Tacoma pumper. So I'm back to being nuts, I guess. :)

So, those of you on TFD now or ever before, as you guys are being dragged in here with my apologies for the rambling tripe that passes for a blog when I'm not working on Engine 17.... this one's for you, too: Sorry, and thanks for keeping me alive despite my best efforts to get dead early. I've spent the last seventeen years since I got the badge, trying to make up for it. Maybe one day I'll feel the debt has been repaid. If not, tell me when you're working, and I'll arrange to drop by with apple pie and ice cream for your crew.

And one more friendly shout out on behalf of the crew at 6's: Tacoma, stop teasing and give them their new engine, already!

Tacoma's Newest Engine 10

Tacoma Fire Department has invited all interested to attend the Housing Ceremony for the New Engine 10.

What: New Engine 10 Housing Cermony
When: Tuesday March 30, 2010, 09:00
Where: 7247 South Park Ave

The star of this blog, Engine 17, was Tacoma's Engine 10 at the time of her first retirement, in 1987. She was replaced by a lime-green 1987 Thibault pumper, which was (as far as I know) itself replaced at least once before 1996, when E10 then got the pumper that is being retired tomorrow (on the left below).



So Tacoma's new Engine 10 (on the right, above), will be (again, as far as I know) Tacoma's 4th E10 since the venerable American LaFrance was placed into reserve in 1987 and then sold in 1989.

The new pumper looks great!

If I had known about this event a little earlier, I would have tried to bring 17 for an appearance, but I doubt my work schedule would have allowed it anyway.

Hope all who can attend have a good time. Chances are excellent that the gig will be interrupted at least once, though, as 10's is a very busy house!

Some Minor Small Talk

Winter. Not the time to be doing much with Engine 17. Yet I feel compelled to put something up once in a while so you know this thing is still on.

The reaction to the Facebook fan page pretty much blew me away. Over 80 fans in just a few weeks, and I only know and recognize a small handful of them. To the rest of you, welcome aboard. I hope I can entertain you adequately to make it worth your time, because I don't have any door prizes to offer.

Finally got the last photo installed at the Wikipedia entry for American LaFrance, after securing permission from the owner of the photo. The Century 1000 pumper now included on that page was retired from a North Carolina department and subsequently sold to a collector.... in Germany. Of course, he's a member of the ALF Owners group as well as the European chapter of SPAAMFA. Anyway, where the Century 1000 is placed on that article, Engine 17 sits above it, and some mystery guy (cough) stands in front of a Century 2000 below it.

Still waiting and hoping to get pictures of 17 from her earlier days. Have not heard back yet, but don't want to nag too hard.

My sister recently related some miscellaneous events to me that she experienced in Tacoma with her involvement in the fire buff's club and TFD staff, and running into old acquaintances from years ago (talking about you, Joseph Stiles!). I am chagrined to admit that, over fifteen years after I moved away from Tacoma, there are new kids on the TFD that have heard about my outrageous overzealous goofball stuff from back in the day. Does that make me a legend? If so, it is certainly the wrong kind of legend! That I 'grew up' to join the service, was even an officer for a while before getting tired of the game that goes with it, currently live in an active 'satellite' fire station in my six-station fire district with my family (yes, they give me my own district apparatus to keep at the house.... are they crazy?). Who would have ever thought I would be, well, useful? Or at least not dangerously stupid?

Somehow, with tall credit to the guys in Tacoma who against all odds kept me from getting myself killed... here I am.

Still, owning a fire engine is a bit nuts, I admit. I just know how to hide it, I guess.

Happy New Year to all.

Some Tacoma Apparatus from Engine 17's Era

That is, the 1970 era and forward a bit.

Since I still do not have early pictures of 17, I'll have to paint it for you using other photos. I'll probably go off on a lot of silly tangents. I apologize for that in advance.

This Mack is the sort of piece that was front line when Fire Station #17 was opened in 1955. This is one of a handful of apparatus that the Tacoma Fire Department has quietly held on to. They also kept one of Engine 17's sisters, though I don't know yet which one it was. My Engine 17, the dalmation-painted engine in Florida, and the one Tacoma still has, accounts for three of the eight sisters, leaving five unaccounted for. I suspect that at least one was stripped for parts while still with Tacoma, but I am not sure. Anyway...see, I digress! So... about this Mack, I can't see which unit this is marked as, but I am going to use this era's door markings to go forward. The circle reads TACOMA on top and FIRE DEPT on the bottom, and has the unit number in the middle. I think it might say No. 5 but I am not sure. Not that it matters for this ramble.

Moving forward about fifteen years, here is one of the famous (in my mind) eight 1970 American LaFrance Type 900 sisters, one of which is my Engine 17. Times were different then... note the firefighter standing in the jumpseat well behind the cab, looking over the roof. This sister was marked as Engine 6 when the photo was taken, and shows the door lettering that would be used on all new deliveries at least through 1980. Note also the hand-painted unit number on the nose, and between the windows on the side.


The next two photos are from the 1974 Daffodil parade. When Tacoma obtained the eight sisters, they also took delivery of two Snorkel truck companies and a tiller-drawn aerial (TDA) ladder truck. Actually, two TDAs were ordered, but one of them was damaged when the train it was being shipped on derailed. American LaFrance offered to repair it, but Tacoma opted to wait and get a new one (which was eventually delivered in 1972), while the damaged aerial was repaired and sold to another fire department. Anyway, these two photos show one of each of these types of units in their original livery.



Right around 1983 or 1984, Tacoma decided that the old-style lettering was not visible enough at distances. The solution was to fit each unit with large, reflective company numbers. You saw an example of this a couple of posts ago in the old photo I found of Engine 5 (shown as assigned in later years to Engine 8). What you can't see in this photo is that the side numbers on the cab between the windows were allowed to stay, and the large reflective number was placed on the bottom rear compartment doors on each side. At least the original door paint remained.


The rig below was originally Truck 3. When it got its huge reflective numbers, the hand painted stuff was allowed to stay for the time being. The Snorkel boom on the identical Truck 4 was later damaged and removed, and Truck 4 took the identical rig from Truck 3 when Truck 3 got a new and much shorter rig better suited for north Tacoma in 1980. Oops... another tangent... so anyway, when old Truck 3 got assigned as Truck 4 later, the hand-painted "3" between the cab windows was replaced with a smaller version of the reflective decal concept at the same time that the rear big decal was swapped from a "3" to a "4". The hand painted door lettering was also removed, and replaced with Tacoma's new standard maltese cross door insignia - a design still in use today, over 20 years later. When the fad of huge reflective numbers wore off, Tacoma moved forward again and adopted the concept of interchangeable placards, a system in use all over the country today. This was actually a good change. Now, swapping units was easy when crews had to exchange units when relieving each other after long incidents, and especially when using a reserve rig. It was no trouble at all to slap your company ID on whatever unit you were going to use. So ... anyway, here is Truck 3 during its later time as Truck 4, all hand lettering is gone, the reflective number decals are still there, but made redundant by the new placards.


That's progress. It ain't all bad, I guess, but for the work I hope to get done on Engine 17, I want that original hand-painted look. I will throw crucifixes and garlic at large reflective decals and placards.

Here's your parting shot though: Today's Tacoma Engine 17 in all her glory:


Thanks for reading.

Historical Fire Station 17

(If you stumbled over here from Facebook, the Engine 17 'become a Fan' Facebook button is over there on the right.)

I am trying to obtain photos of Engine 17 during her service life with Tacoma, at any time of her career as E17, E9 and E10. They exist, but can I get access to them? We'll see how it goes. The request is out there.

In the meantime, I have been scraping together photos loosely related to 'my' Engine 17 to entertain you. Today, some history on Fire Station 17.

Construction of Fire Station #17 began in 1954, just east of the intersection of South 35th Street and Union Avenue. When completed and opened in early 1955, Tacoma established Engine Company #17 for the first time.

Some boring commentary on the operational size of Tacoma Fire since then.....

The 1955 opening of Fire Station #17 expanded the fire department to 18 stations (counting the fireboat station). Station 17 was also intended to house the not-yet-established Truck Company #5, but it never happened and Tacoma still operates to this day with only four ladder companies.

Many other changes have taken place, but the net change over the past 54 years amounts to:

• Disbanding of Engine 5 (Engines 3 and 12 were also disbanded for quite a while, but both returned, E3 around 1983 and E12 roughly 1998)
• Rescue 1 (technical rescue) evolving over the decades into five Medic units
• Establishment of a new fireboat at a new Station 5 and then the relatively recent disbanding of both fireboat crews (one fireboat remains staffed by an engine crew when they are available)
• The addition of a handful of other unstaffed specialty units.

Overall, the department lost one fire company, one fireboat company, and one rescue company, while gaining five ambulances, amounting to essentially no change in the department's staffing since 1955.

Take the 1955 staffing levels, and then apply the enormous increase in call volume since then due to the assumption of EMS calls (which usually make up about 80% of a fire department's call volume). Then apply the growth of Tacoma from around 137,000 people to over 203,000 in those 54 years, an increase of over 32%. And then apply the assumption of fire protection for the Cities of Fife and Fircrest (combined 2009 population 14,000 pushing the covered total population to over 217,000), and you have the Tacoma Fire Department handling exponentially more calls, covering a population increase of nearly 40%, and doing so with the same number of personnel and apparatus available in 1955. Wow!

Anyway.... back to the interesting Engine 17 stuff.

This architectural drawing of Fire Station #17 is pretty close to how it came out.

Here are some pictures of Station 17 shortly after it was completed. You can see the reference to the hoped-for but never realized Truck Company #5 over one of the bay doors.




Tacoma's Engine 17 was relocated to Fircrest when Tacoma assumed their fire protection by contract in 1995, thus the station formerly used by the Fircrest Fire Department became the new Tacoma Station 17.

The old Station 17 on 35th Street, having served its intended duty for only a short 40 years, was remodeled into administrative space and is now the home of the fire prevention division. You can see what it looks like today via Google Street View by clicking the link below. The building's footprint has been expanded into the original covered outside area, the hose tower has been removed, and there is a wall with small windows and a door where the large glass truck bay doors used to be. Driving by, you'd never guess what it used to be except for the curb ramp inexplicably leading up to the wall where Engine 17 used to pull out.

Old Fire Station 17 Google Street View

When we come back.... pictures of older Tacoma fire apparatus similar and related to Engine 17.

Engine 8, circa 1984

Found this today while going through a bin of photographs. This is 17's sister, Engine 8, in front of Fire Station 8, just a few doors down from where I grew up.


The station in that old picture might look familiar, as I snapped a quick photo of 17 in front of the now-closed old Station 8 when I picked her up this summer.


When the 1970 rigs were new, they had hand-painted unit numbers above the 'American LaFrance' nameplate on the nose. It was just before that old picture was taken that the front numbers were buffed off (argh!) and replaced with those huge reflective numbers. It was a fad. A few years later the department switched over to the interchangable placards now commonly used all over the country.

Anyway, it is that beautiful red finish and hand-painted door decals and numbering that I hope to get back on 17. When I compare these pics... sigh. Big job.

The Beginning - As Told by Sister

If you were at all amused at the narrative of how I came about obtaining Engine 17, you might want to read the first several posts of my sister's blog, which is a thorough review of her point of view of the same events.

I just finished re-reading it, and was again amused. It is much easier to be nuts when you can freely admit it.

Click here to start.

Identity Corrected and Confirmed Again, For Real This Time

Well, I feel silly about this, but.... well, last word I got about my engine's original identity was incorrect. I shouldn't have jumped the gun until it was "confirmed"-confirmed... I was working with an indirect, unofficial notification. My bad.

Turns out, my engine did not start out as Tacoma Engine 2 before becoming Engine 10.

TFD historian Ralph Decker has confirmed that my engine joined Tacoma's fleet as Engine 17 in 1970. When Engine 17 was replaced with an American LaFrance Century Series in 1976, my engine was reassigned as Engine 9. When Engine 9 received one of the 1980 Mack CF pumpers, my engine was then assigned to Engine 10 for the rest of its Tacoma front line career, being moved to reserve status in 1987 and sold in 1989.

Sadly, the building in service as Station 17 in 1970 is no longer a fire station, so I will be unable to get meaningful pictures of my rig in front of that location. The Tacoma Fire Department moved Station 17 to the City of Fircrest in 1995, and remodeled the old station into administrative office space.

So once again the blog name has been updated and is now under a new address. This should be the last time! What else can go wrong?!

Original Identity Confirmed

Unofficial (but reliable) word has reached me that according to the premier and longtime Historian of the Tacoma Fire Department, Ralph Decker, my engine's original home was with Tacoma Station 2, as Engine Co. #2, from the time of its delivery in 1970 until it was replaced in 1980 with a new Mack CF pumper. It then spent the next seven years at Station 10 until it was again replaced with a new pumper, this time a 1987 Thibault. My engine then moved to reserve status for a few years before Tacoma sold it to Grant County Fire District #5.

Ironically, if you have been reading along so far, you'll note that Station 2 was the only other fire station other than Station 10 that we stopped at when passing through Tacoma on the pick-up trip. Well, I guess we did a photo-op drive-by at the old Station 8, but it is now closed and we didn't hover for long... doesn't quite count.

I seem to have apparently had an inkling on this, though.... when I first hedged on the blog name, on just the 2nd post of this blog, I used Engine 2 as an example alternative. Ding ding ding! Where's my prize? Oh wait, I already own it. Yeah!

So.... this is the first new post on the blog after moving it to its new location (formerly this was the "Engine 10 Project").

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I missed the Woodland WA Pump-In arranged by SPAAMFAA this past Saturday, but had a pre-arranged father-and-son camping trip on that weekend with my 9-year-old. The fire engine will need love for a while, but my children only grow up once. Skipping the trip with my kid was therefore never even on the radar. I hope to take Engine 2 to some of these future events when conflicts are not a problem, and sponge up the knowledge that other participants are sure to offer. I need all the help I can get.

Due to Summer winding slowly down, and other financial obligations screaming for attention, it is unlikely that there will be any major amount of regular activity on Engine 2 in the near term. However, of course, when there is, it will be noted here. The only significant thing done in the past 24 hours was the removal of the decals from the cab marking it as GCFD13's Engine "1312" and the removal of the "13" from the doors. The actual lettering, "GRANT COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT" was painted onto the doors by previous owner GCFD5 and will need to be buffed off.

Sorry for the boring update.

Paint, Identity, and Pictures

Here she is, on the day I picked her up, original red paint visible on the inside of the door. More pictures farther down.....

I was doing some fishing around to get an idea what it will run me to make this rig red again, and am still recovering from the shock.

The general estimate: 10 Gs. $10,000. Five figures. Ouch.

So do I wait, perhaps for many years, and get it done 'right', or do I shortcut it a bit, forgo comprehensive sandblasting and just get a half decent paint job on par for a working vehicle? I don't mind if it looks a little rough along the lines of what working fire apparatus often look like, but I want to avoid 'cheap' and end up with it looking like lipstick on a pig.

One solution I am considering is to approach some paint and body shops nearby and barter work in exchange for advertising. That is, to show their name and number on the rig at parades and musters, for a fixed number of major appearances, in order to offset the cost. Still, at $10G, that is a lot of appearances. If I were a shop owner, I don't know if I would go for that... I am wondering how many shows I would pay $10G to put a fire truck in for advertising. And then, one of the helpful guys at ALFowners pointed out that the collector car insurance carriers as a general rule prohibit commercial use. That would mean that coverage would probably be null and void when advertising is displayed.

Argh.

I am in over my head, but I knew that going in. I doubt that feeling will ever go away. I have existing debt, added more to get this rig, and of course there is the family to take care of. Necessarily, this project is not real super high up the priority list.

Still, I am glad I did not pass this opportunity by.

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I have determined beyond all doubt that my engine was not Engine 10 for its entire life with Tacoma. Engine 10 was not one of the original recipients of the eight sisters. I have narrowed it down, and (assuming I remember correctly) have refined the possibilities to it originally being E1, E2, E6 or E17. We shall see. The blog name will be changing when I find out.

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Finally, pictures:


This is Tacoma's Truck Co. #3, from the same batch of American LaFrance Type 900's that my engine came from, which represents both the color and markings that I hope to eventually put back on my engine. (Photo from Ralph Decker collection per http://www.aerochief.com/page7.html)

A picture I took right after installing the new Collector Vehicle license plate, which also clearly shows the '10' peeking through a thin coat of silver paint on the center rear compartment door:

From the trip home: In front of Tacoma Station #10 (it's last full-time gig with Tacoma), and then also in front of former Tacoma Station #8 (next to where I grew up).

Pickup Day - Part II

Sister is realllly wanting in the engine with me, so first things first. Go to her south end house so she can drop the burden of having her own vehicle along, and we have a few places we want to go. We pull up, neighbors giving us undisguised and puzzled stares, and I give a couple of blasts on the out-of-tune Grover 1510's (they have lost their 'firetruck' stuttertone sound and bring to mind instead a UPS truck... another project).

The brother in law was just heading out the door to pick up the nephew in the north end. Sister parks the Explorer and in a flash she has an evil plan.

Soon she and I are on our way to pick up her kid and his girlfriend from an afternoon party. In the engine, of course. All the way across town to another neighborhood, more stares, more honks, more fun. It was unclear if nephew would be mortified or thrilled. He claimed the latter, and he and his girlfriend took the jumpseats before we pulled away with more weak UPS truck honks.

First stop: Tacoma Fire Station 2, where rumor has it one of the other 1970 ALF sisters is in storage in the basement (Station 2's basement has a rear ground-level entry and used to be the Fire Garage a long, long time ago). TFD has a handful of old apparatus quietly retained for eventual museum purposes, it is hoped, and in future years it will be realized just how valuable and cool this is. As luck would have it, a Battalion Chief was just returning from another errand and met us at the back. Alas, the sister is not here, but in another facility not easily accessed without prior arrangements. Amusingly, this BC also vaguely remembers me as the whacker kid fire buff from 8's of many years ago. I think he is pleased to see that I turned out sane and allegedly a productive member of the service. But wait, I just drove up in a privately-owned fire engine.... OK never mind the appearance of sanity. I think he was just being polite.

Next stop: Old Tacoma Fire Station 8. It is a private residence now, so we don't want to intrude. I park the engine in the street in front of the apron, jump out and grab a couple of pictures, and we're out of there. We amuse ourselves ever so slightly by running the engine back down 43rd Street towards 'M' Street as we recall Engine 8 doing endless times from our childhoods.

The nephew and girlfriend have had about enough now (it is a super-hot day even without sitting next to the hot cowl over the raging Detroit Diesel), so we drop them off at home. Still, they were all grins waving back at people giving them the usual puzzled stares and happy waves from the children.

Next stop: Tacoma Fire Station 10, this engine's apparent last full-time house when assigned in Tacoma. Luckily, the current iteration of Tacoma Engine 10 is in the house. 10's is one of the busiest companies in Tacoma now (~3,000 runs per year), so this is a stroke of good luck. We park across the street at first to stay out of the way, and knock on the door. Listening to just the duty crew, it was something like "Can we help you? You have a what? Really? Oh, it's here??" So we have FF Brent and FF Karen humoring us and our surprise drop-in, but you know it is cool for them to get a first-hand contact with the past of their house, something they are too young to have ridden when it was still with Tacoma. The LT didn't come out. Maybe he knew who I was, heh. Anyway, soon they insist that we back the engine right onto the apron for pictures. FF Karen even presented me with a parting gift when it was time for us to move on and let them get back to their day, which was extremely nice of her, and above and beyond... as for me it was gift enough to see old Engine 10 in front of her old house.

I'd post pictures - I have them - but the Blogspot posting interface doesn't work 100% on the computer I am using at the moment, but pictures will be forthcoming at some point.

Next stop: Mom's house. Living by old Station 8 was a significant part of her life, too, though she moved away from there several years before old Station 8 closed. Sister and I stop and switch places before we pull up, and Mom's husband is shocked to see sister behind the wheel as we pull up... "Wait.... you're driving??" This tickles him and Mom to no end. It is a short visit because time is tight. Mom really and truly thought I was nuts to buy this engine and made sure to tell me as much in advance, but I arrange for silence before starting up the big engine again, and she cannot contain her emotional reaction. She clenches a fist in victory, looks up and says "Yessssss!" You see, she's not nuts, but if it invoked this response in her anyway, then you get what it does for my sister and I. Well, just say you do and we'll move on anyway.

The last two appearances of the day were at house parties. One was a party that sister was involved in, and all of the grownups came out and walked around and climbed on and poked in and opened every door and compartment on that engine. Like young kids always wanted to do, but I gave them the green light to explore to their hearts content, and they all dropped 20 years for the next fifteen minutes.

Finally to a housewarming party that I had been invited to that day, and I parked the engine right on the front lawn. I'll tell ya... that sure brought out the neighbors for a meet and greet at the housewarming! There were lots of actual children this time, and again they got the green light to have fun. If I ever get this engine a new paint job, access will be restricted, but right now it is a 'working' piece, and a few more scuffs are of no importance. We stayed close to keep them from falling off or getting hurt, but I am here to tell you those kids had a blast. Literally. Lots of them. Lots and lots. So much so, in fact, that I swear they would have emptied the air tanks completely out with all that air horn blasting action except that I was sure we were heading towards a disturbing the peace complaint and finally put the kabosh on air horn usage.

It was a long and lonely dark drive home after that.

It was about as grand of a pickup day as one could hope for.

I don't know when this engine will get back to her hometown again, but the one grand day in town was sort of epic considering how long she had waited for it. And sometimes home isn't about place as much as it is about being cared for. I have a wife and six children who are my first priority, and other obligations that come after, but I intend to provide old Engine 10 a good place.

Welcome home, baby.

Pickup Day - Part I

I rode up from the Portland area to Tacoma by train, and crashed out at the in-laws (they're the best.. it just kicks all to have great in-laws). Bright and early Saturday morning, my sister picks me up, and northward we go, through Seattle up to Mukilteo to catch the ferry to Whidbey Island, where my pumper awaits. It is a great drive up, filled with anticipation for both of us. My sister is every bit as nuts about this as I am.

We arrive at our destination, and I see the rig parked at the end of the field. Wow, I am actually buying a fire engine. I am nuts... yeah yeah, we've been over that. Sister feels the same way... wow, he's really buying a fire engine.... he's nuts... we both are.

The gentleman selling her walks us around the rig. I've been holding a slight hope that it was my 'home' rig, Engine 8, but we quickly spot the '10' on the back. That's cool, it is still one of the eight sisters, and 10 is a busy house adjacent to 8's first-due that shares nearly all its fires with 8, as 8 often did with 10. She was missing her Q siren and all of her original warning lights, only a slightly modernized roof warning beacon remained. She was missing several of her intake and discharge caps as well as her Stang water cannon. A couple of rolls of hose were all she had for equipment, hosebed and ladder rack bare bones empty. But that can all be fixed later.... this is one of the eight sisters.

Then, he started her up.

Oh.... that SOUND! I remember it well, and a lot of memories came right back. Hearing that old familiar Detroit Diesel roar to life was.... well... amazing. Inside I am all... 'Yessss!'

We took her out for a quick test drive, and she ran beautifully.

I drove two other American LaFrance engines often on the job before this day. One was a 1984 refurbed 'Type 1000 Century Series', and the other a 1990 'Century 2000'... and while I loved them for being ALF rigs, they did not have the same sound as old Engine 10 and her sisters. What was markedly different this time, was that the sound was a constant for us in the cab as we drove, not a coming or going. Interesting.

We returned, exchanged funds and paperwork, and headed out.

First stop, the hardware store. She still bore the markings of the last agency she worked for, Grant County Fire District #13. We purchased some white contact paper and cut it to size to cover the door markings, the unit ID markings under the jumpseat windows, and the unit ID marking on the nose. On the doors and nose we use a permanent marker to clearly mark this engine as NOT IN SERVICE, and also to cover the warning light on the roof and the now-invalid Washington State "Aid Car License" on the windshield.

You see, I had no interest whatsoever in being waved down by someone in distress. I anticipated having no equipment, and although it turned out to have a little bit of hose aboard, a pneumatic actuator was not functioning and she would not go into pump gear, nor was a nozzle to be had. I admit I did bring my turnout gear and a very nice first-aid/trauma jump kit, but I hoped to not need it. I deliberately avoided wearing anything that would made me look even remotely like a firefighter on or off duty.

It started quickly... I think we talked to five people in the parking lot of this small hardware store on Whidbey island who stopped to look at her, realizing it was a privately-owned toy. Mostly older guys. Yeah, they had boats and stuff... but you could tell they suddenly (if only temporarily) had Fire Engine Envy. This continued all day.

Driving her onto the ferry was a treat. Sister had the roughest time... she wanted to be in the fire engine, not following. Darn all the luck, I swear she would have sold that Ford Explorer to the first person that offered $100 just so she could ride back in the engine, but no one came forward in time.

The ride back to Tacoma was uneventful, except for the part where I spoke inside the cab while approaching the Tacoma Dome on I-5 as if old Engine 10 could hear me.

"Welcome home, baby. Welcome home".

Nuts? Yeah, I am. But I accepted that many years ago.

The Beginning

I grew up in Tacoma, Washington, just a few doors down from Fire Station 8 at South 43rd and "L" Streets. Although my sister had the 'bug' first, by the time I was out of elementary school, I knew that I wanted to be a firefighter when I grew up.

I started hanging around Station 8 all the time. I mean, ALL the time. I was an over-the-top Fire Buff... someone who just loves being around firefighters and firefighting. Without going into too much detail (because this blog isn't really supposed to be about me), let's just say that it is a miracle that I didn't get myself killed, the way I chased after calls in South Tacoma on my bicycle and often got a bit too close to the action.

I owe much to the patience of the firefighters of that time who kept me alive despite myself. Mel Smith, Milt Nelson, Joe Stiles, Brian Trunk, Kenny Faulkner, Mike Newhouse, Davey Jones, Don Hoffman, Jeff Hokensen, Ben Baltazar, Cornelius Winesberry, Lonnie Hampton ... these are a few of the names that come right to mind, but there were many others. Some patient, others not so much - but understandably so. Yeah you guys, I was pretty much hopeless, all enthusiasm and no common sense, but you all kicked me in the teeth and busted my balls enough that I eventually became useful as a firefighter later on.

ANYway.....

Back in the day, Engine 8 was a 1970 American LaFrance 'Type 900' pumper, and being the first engine I became very familiar with, it is established in my mind as the embodiment of the romanticised ideal fire engine. Tacoma had eight of these engines, as well as three ALF truck companies (two 80' (?) Snorkels and a tiller-driven aerial), from 1970. Tacoma already had some 1964 Type 900's before this, and also eventually ran another ALF TDA (1972) and a couple of ALF Century Series pumpers with 50' Telesqrt booms (1976) before moving to other manufacturers in subsequent years.

Fast forward.

I have been a firefighter since 1993. There is a small set of firefighters and other fire buffs who own old fire apparatus, not unlike all of the many car collectors out there. It's just that fire engines require a bigger storage space. I had long wanted to pick up an old pumper, but had no specific schedule to do so.

A month or so ago, an old engine showed up on a used car lot near me. I stopped in to see it, a 1966 Mack Model 'C'. It was nice enough, had issues to be expected on a 45 year old truck, but nothing show-stopping. I was hemming and hawing about it. Money I could arrange. Storage I had already. But was this 'the one'?

While discussing it with my sister, she asked about the old '70 ALF Engine 8, which had been replaced in 1987 with a lime-yellow Spartan/Thibault pumper that lacked character (and a Q2B siren). She didn't remember what year it was, or quite how it looked.

When crafting my reply, I did a web search to find pictures of a 1970 ALF pumper for reference.

The 3rd result: A CraigsList ad posted only the day prior, offering one of Tacoma's eight 1970 American LaFrance pumpers for sale.

No. Way.

It would have been grand to get my hands on any late 60's or early 70's ALF, that would have been close enough. Really cool to get a '70 ALF, the 'right' year. But one of the eight 1970 Tacoma ALFs? Are you kidding? I have heard so many times from people who talked about rare or once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to buy the fill-in-the-blank, didn't jump on it, and forever regretted it. The implausibility of how this played out only encouraged my feeling that it was 'meant to be'. So, I followed the advice given, contacted the seller immediately, and picked it up a few days later.

As it turned out, this pumper was Tacoma Engine 10 in its last full-time assignment with Tacoma, from the district located just to the south of Engine 8's district. When Tacoma eventually sold it from their reserve fleet, it was picked up by Grant County Fire District #5, who owned it for the next thirteen years. Grant 5 painted it white over lime yellow (travesty!!), and it was serving as Grant 5's Engine 561 upon its second retirement. Old Engine 10 found its third career with Grant County Fire District #13, where it was serving as Engine 1312 when retired for the final time three years ago.

At least two private owners later, I now own her.

And that's the story of how this all got started.