Sirens On The Sound

Best Appearing-Motorized went to the 1961 Dodge Power Wagon brush truck from Niantic Fire Department.

Firefighters show off early engines
By Sasha Goldstein

Publication: The Day

Published 06/12/2011 12:00 AMUpdated 06/11/2011 11:40 PM


Waterford - Considering the number of roofless vehicles in Waterford Beach Park on Saturday, you'd think the attendees were checking out the latest exotic sports cars.

Clocking in at a top speed of 27 mph, the 1920 Ford Model T American LaFrance firetruck may not have sexy speed, but it sure is a beauty.

It's a point of pride for the fire companies that brought out antique and decades-old fire vehicles for the first Sirens on the Sound, organizer Tim Condon said. And, it's a way to get out the word that these vehicles still exist but need near-constant maintenance to stay usable.

"(The Model T) looks like it's in good shape, and it is, but for the meticulous mind, there are some things that need to be addressed before it gets into disrepair," said Condon, who, along with his brother Nick, are members of the Waterford Fire Department and care providers for the truck.

The Model T is the first truck Waterford owned, and it survived a 1936 fire that destroyed records and the fire department building.

The living history these trucks provide is the main reason Fritz Hilbert keeps the T.W. Lane, Mystic Fire Department's 1883 Button hand-pump engine.

A hand engine is just like it sounds: a firetruck with a pump that uses manpower to douse flames. Hilbert said the Lane requires 50 people to get going full force. He and other firefighters take it around New England to compete by shooting out streams of water.

"Our record is 283 feet, almost a football field," Hilbert said.

Bought for a few thousand dollars in the 1960s, Hilbert said the 3,500 pound handtub, as they are called, now sell for upwards of $100,000.

He said they were mostly phased out around 1895 as steam-powered engines became popular.

No steam-powered engines were on display, but Montville fire Lt. Bruce Tackling brought along a 1931 GMC American LaFrance, the first truck Montville fire owned.

"We just got it back after a seven-year restoration," Tackling said.

Andrew Stino, first lieutenant for Goshen fire, said the 1938 Buffalo the town bought that year hasn't been restored but is still in good shape. The town used it until 1967, he said.

"In 1938, it responded to the Bank Street fire after the hurricane," Stino said, referring to the fires that raged in downtown New London after New England's infamous hurricane.

Joe DeLaura said he'd been a Niantic firefighter for five years when the department bought a 1961 Dodge Power Wagon he was displaying.

"It was bought as a pickup truck, but it was designed and built to be a brush truck by members of the fire department," DeLaura said.

Fifty years later, both DeLaura and the truck remain in service with the Niantic fire department.

"It's got no power-steering, no power brakes, and it's getting tired, but it's still moving," DeLaura said of the truck. "It still serves its purpose and can go places other trucks can't."

Little details like that is what made the event, despite spotty weather, a success, Nick Condon said.

"The fire service is a tight-knit group, and we enjoy showing off and telling about the history of these engines," he said. "All these firefighters are volunteers, and they take pride in these things."