1944 American LaFrance 100' Tiller Truck
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The Story of the 1944 American LaFrance
In 1944, the Washington DC Fire Department purchased a new American LaFrance ladder truck. It was a 600 series, open top cab with a 100 foot steel telescoping aerial ladder on a tiller rig. It was assigned as Truck Company No. 1 protecting our nations capitol during World War II. DCFD maintained this unit as front line for 12 years and then in 1959 used it as trade-in to buy a new aerial truck.
At the time, the City of Mesquite was in need of a ladder truck for the rapidly growing community. Upon learning this apparatus was for sale, the Mesquite Fire Department placed the highest bid of $5000. The newly appointed Chief of the Mesquite Fire Department James Lewis and Captains L.G. Bud Riggs and John McDaniel along with Dallas Fireman Homer Caret made the trip from Mesquite to Washington DC to bring the truck to Texas.
Built for the hilly terrain of the capitol, the truck had a top speed of about 35 mph. The four men worked in two hour shifts, driving from dawn to dusk in an attempt to get the truck to Mesquite in five days, but threw a rod near Leland, Mississippi. After a three week delay, the men returned to Leland and drove the remaining 400 miles in a single day. As they pulled into the fire station parking lot, the engine caught fire but an extinguisher kept things under control.
The firemen laughed as they told the story about driving through the mountains on their return trip. It seems as though in an attempt to make up time, they would place the transition in neutral and coast down hill to pick up speed. On one such occasion, with a highway patrolman in pursuit, the tiller driver attempted to warn the front driver of the situation with nothing but a buzzer to communicate. Apparently amused by the spectacle of an aerial fire truck speeding through the mountains, the patrolman passed, shaking his head.
At the time, the City of Mesquite was in need of a ladder truck for the rapidly growing community. Upon learning this apparatus was for sale, the Mesquite Fire Department placed the highest bid of $5000. The newly appointed Chief of the Mesquite Fire Department James Lewis and Captains L.G. Bud Riggs and John McDaniel along with Dallas Fireman Homer Caret made the trip from Mesquite to Washington DC to bring the truck to Texas.
Built for the hilly terrain of the capitol, the truck had a top speed of about 35 mph. The four men worked in two hour shifts, driving from dawn to dusk in an attempt to get the truck to Mesquite in five days, but threw a rod near Leland, Mississippi. After a three week delay, the men returned to Leland and drove the remaining 400 miles in a single day. As they pulled into the fire station parking lot, the engine caught fire but an extinguisher kept things under control.
The firemen laughed as they told the story about driving through the mountains on their return trip. It seems as though in an attempt to make up time, they would place the transition in neutral and coast down hill to pick up speed. On one such occasion, with a highway patrolman in pursuit, the tiller driver attempted to warn the front driver of the situation with nothing but a buzzer to communicate. Apparently amused by the spectacle of an aerial fire truck speeding through the mountains, the patrolman passed, shaking his head.
"44 ALF in Lamesa TX. in front of the Country Store.
1944 American LaFrance in front of Quarters DCFD
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