Fire truck comes free of charge
From the July 20,1994 edition of The New Castle Record
The Upper Craigs Creek Volunteer Fire Department is the recipient of a 1960 American LaFrance fire truck donated by the Salem Fire Department. The city donated the pumper truck to the UCCVFD.
On July 21, Salem Fire Chief Dan Hall presented the keys to the truck to Upper Craigs Creek Chief Harry Osborne at the Salem Fire Station Number 1.
Osborne said his department plans to refurbish the truck with paint and appropriate signage. The Salem insignia will be removed and the UCCVFD will paint its letter on the doors.
“It will be our first-run truck; our attack pumper,” Osborne said. “It will be a honey when it’s done. Right now, it has better tires than all of our other equipment put together.”
Hall said the city of Salem bought the truck for the Salem department from American LaFrance when it was new in 1960.
“You can tell it’s been used,” he said. “But it’s in good shape. We’ve kept it in good repair over the years with a preventative maintenance program.”
Hall noted the pumper still meets the department’s annual performance tests. He said the truck is quipped with a two-speed axle and is well suited for hilly terrain.
The booster tank on the truck holds 500 gallons of water.
Salem recently bought two new pumper trucks and was able to donate the American LaFrance to the UCCVFD because there was no room for it with the additional vehicles.
-EDWIN TAYLOR
