Each truck that the group gets is reworked from top to bottom, but some, like the 1923 ladder truck, which had been sitting in a field outside of Flagstaff for years, were in much rougher condition.
Tucson Fire Department’s nearly 100-year-old Ladder 1 truck was unveiled Sept. 2, 2021, after a revamp by the Tucson Fire Restoration Team. The team of retired Tucson firefighters spent five years restoring the 1923 American LaFrance truck, according to TFD.
Video courtesy Tucson Fire Department.
The 1930 quad “has the original engine, the transmission,” Geare said. “The body is in remarkably good shape.”
There is still much work to be done. The truck did not come with ladders, so those will have to be fabricated — fabrication is a big part of the job since not every part of a fire truck from the 1930s is readily available for purchase.
From there, it is just a matter of getting the work done.
A 1923 American LaFrance ladder truck restored by the volunteer crew will be on display at Dillinger Days.
That’s where people like Jeff Corey come in.
Corey, a retired arson investigator for Tucson Fire, has been working with the restoration group since 2010.
“It is kind of like working at the fire station again,” he said. “Whether it is sweeping floors or loading hose or crawling under fire trucks.”
Steve Ellis, a retired battalion chief from the Tucson Fire Department, uses a grinder while helping restore old fire trucks at the Southside Service Center.
Corey said working in a group makes it easier to solve any challenges that might come with restoring a vintage fire truck, especially when it comes to the fabrication process.
“If you can’t figure out how to do something, between the eight or 10 of us, we usually can come up with a plan,” he said.
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