1957 Fire Engine photoThe picture shows Chief Dudden, Director of Public Safety, accepting delivery of the Village’s first fire engine.
The engine was built by the American-LaFrance Co. of Elmira, NY and, as was the standard of the day shipped by railcar to WPB where it was picked up (explaining the background).
The other gentleman in the picture was the factory technician sent with the engine to provide training in use and maintenance to department personnel.
The engine was state-of-the-art for small suburban fire departments of the day; built on a commercial chassis with a 750 gallon per minute (GPM) pump and 500 gallon water tank, two people rode in the cab and the rest of the crew rode, standing on the tailboard.
In comparison, our engines today are built on a custom chassis with 1250 GPM pumps, still a 500 gallon tank, and everyone rides inside the protective cab.