By Ron Heal
In 1921, Sarnia (Ontario, Canada) Fire Rescue began a program that would motorize its fire apparatus. Over the next five years, the three pieces of horse-drawn apparatus would be replaced with three pieces of motorized fire apparatus built by the American LaFrance Foamite Company in Toronto, Ontario.
Two pumpers and a service ladder truck would take the place of the horse-drawn equipment in the city’s only fire hall on George Street, just off the business district in the city. The population was 13,000 at the time.
The first apparatus to arrive in Sarnia in the summer of 1922 was a 1921 combination pumper/chemical rig. The Type 75 registration number 3441 came equipped with a 740-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pump, a 50-gallon chemical tank, hard rubber tires, and a hand-cranked siren. A type 14-6 combination service ladder truck followed later that year. A second pumper Type 45 arrived in Sarnia in 1926, marking the end of the horse-drawn apparatus era.
It would be 1948 before any of the three rigs would be replaced. The first unit to be replaced was the ladder truck when the department purchased a 1948 Pirsch 75-foot open cab aerial truck. In 1951, the department purchased a 700 Series American LaFrance closed cab pumper to replace the 1921 pumper as the front-line apparatus. For 30 years, the 1921 pumper had responded to all the fire calls in the city. Service records indicate that one of the last fires that the rig would be used was a large mid-1950s fire on Front Street in the commercial district of Sarnia.
The pumper would remain on the department roster, first as a spare and later brought out for various public relations events in Sarnia and nearby communities. It is told that the pumper made a last appearance at the Brigden (Ontario) Fair in 1967 during Canada’s centennial year. A mechanical issue on the aging rig resulted in the pumper being driven back to Sarnia, a 15-mile trip, in first gear. The truck was parked in Fire Hall 2, and there it stayed for several years. The pumper was just worn out.
Captain (Ret.) Mike Simpson came on the job in 1989. At times when he was assigned to Fire Hall 2, he would see the old pumper parked and gathering all the loose stuff that can be around a fire hall. During quiet times, Simpson did his best to keep things at least orderly around the old truck. From time to time, there were conversations about restoring the rig but not much action. The sister motorized pumper had long been sold off to a local businessman, and the ladder truck had been scrapped.
In the mid 1990s, Simpson talked with Chief RobertTimms about buying the truck, with the goal of getting the rig running and pumping. The chief approached the city council, and for the sum of $1.00 the truck was purchased. The purchase price was the easy part. The hard part would be raising funds and finding the people with the skills to do a restoration. For the next several years, fundraisers were held to get the monies needed for a restoration. Over the years, many members of Sarnia Fire & Rescue gave their time and talents to do research and several stages of a full restoration on the pumper. It would be 2003 before a restoration could be started, and it would be 2021 before the restoration neared completion.
1 The restoration of Sarnia Fire Rescue’s 1921 American LaFrance pumper, the department’s first motorized apparatus, was recently completed. (Photos courtesy of Sarnia Fire Rescue and Sarnia Professional Firefighters Local 492.)
2 In 1921, the department started replacing its horse-drawn apparatus with motorized vehicles. By 1926, it had completed the task with three new American LaFrance vehicles in the fleet.
3 The 1921 American LaFrance pumper was joined with the department’s 1948 Pirsch 75-foot open cab aerial truck at the Canada Day parade in July.
4 The newly restored pumper was originally equipped with a 740-gpm pump.
5 The pumper also had a 50-gallon chemical tank.
6 After many years of hard work, the pumper was in running order by May 2021.
7 Captain Mike Simpson was instrumental in getting the old pumper restored and back to working order for future generations to enjoy.
8 One of the final tasks of the restoration was the installation of a decorative beaver on the truck bell.
Simpson reached out to Firefighter (Ret.) Howard Longley to become the major player in doing a complete restoration on the rig. During his years on the job, Longley was often recruited by the shop mechanic to help out with the maintenance of apparatus on the growing fire department. He brought mechanical skills from previous jobs. It turned out that just about every mechanical skill that one could think of would be needed on the restoration project, and he was up to the task.
There were many starts and stops over almost a 20-year project. Funding and a place to work on the rig were major factors over the years. Sarnia businessman Todd Gladwish offered a place for the restoration to begin. The truck would be moved three more times as the long restoration continued. Simpson is quick to point out that the restoration would never have become a reality without the services of Longley.
As the restoration continued, there was also some major support from the Sarnia business community and from individuals. J and J Auto Body supplied the paint and labor to paint the entire rig. Nancy Leader gave a generous cash contribution in memory of her late Sarnia firefighter husband George Leader. In the later stages of the restoration, a two-bay structure was built behind the East Street Central Fire Hall with one stall to store the pumper. The city supplied the material and Sarnia firefighters did the construction.
When Simpson retired in May 2021, the restoration was mostly completed, and the truck was in running order. His last action on the job was to reattach the decorative beaver on the truck bell and drive the rig home at the end of his shift.
On Canada Day, July 1, 2022, three Sarnia fire truck units were in the parade. Two vintage units joined a current Sarnia Fire & Rescue 95-foot aerial ladder. The newly restored 1921 American LaFrance pumper and the 1948 Pirsch aerial ladder now owned by Sarnia Firefighter Trevor Mitchell traveled the parade route.
Sarnia Professional Firefighters Local 492 owns the 1921 pumper. Mitchell and Russ Elliott have become overseers of the rig’s future. There is very good news that a new Fire Hall 3 is under construction at Michigan Avenue and Colborne Road, and there will be an area available to properly display the beautifully restored first motorized fire truck to serve the city of Sarnia. Mitchell and Elliott also plan to have a pool of Sarnia firefighters with an interest in the vintage rig learn how to drive the truck for important civic occasions.
Ron Heal is a Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment columnist and a member of its advisory board. He is a retired apparatus warranty administrator for an Illinois Pierce dealership and a former president of the mid-state Illinois chapter of the Society for the Protection & Appreciation of Antique Motor Fire Apparatus in America (SPAAMFAA). He is an avid apparatus photographer with a life-long interest in motorized fire apparatus.
