- The American LaFrance Corporate Collection is being auctioned by RM Sotheby’s on Friday in Miami.
- The lists include 15 vehicles spanning nearly 100 years, from early hand-drawn wagons to post-war behemoths.
- There’s even a roadster assembled by America’s LaFrance and used by its executives, the only remaining passenger car built by the legendary fire truck manufacturer.
For many young children, fire trucks are fascinating. The selfless heroism of the men and women who operate these machines certainly plays a role, but much of the obsession comes from their hulking size, blaring sirens, bright red paint job, shiny chrome trim and array of tethered equipment. Some of us have never outgrown this enthusiasm, and now fire truck fanatics have the chance to make their dream come true, with a plethora of vintage fire trucks to be auctioned in four days through RM Sotheby’s in Miami.
The group of vehicles comes from the American LaFrance Corporate Collection and previously served as a promotional and marketing tool for American LaFrance, a leading manufacturer of emergency vehicles from 1873 to 2014. The collection spans almost 100 years and all fire apparatus offered are listed without reservation. The trucks had previously loaned to the North Charleston Fire Museumwhich is now closed.
The oldest vehicle in the collection dates from 1858 and is in fact not a truck, but a hand-drawn and hand-operated pump engine. This example was built by a company called Button & Blake, which later merged with several other companies and eventually became American LaFrance.
The Button & Blake Pumper was notable at the time for its domed copper ‘anti-pulsation chamber’, a device that equalized the flow of water through the pump to create an even, consistent flow of water. Built largely of wood and featuring ornate painted decorations, the carriage is estimated to sell for between $100,000 and $150,000.
Of the vehicles powered by internal combustion, the oldest option is the 1911 American LaFrance Type 5 twin tank combinationwhich wears the stark white livery of the Liberty Fire Company No. 5 from Reading, Pennsylvania. The Type 5 was the first gasoline-powered fire engine from American LaFrance, powered by a gigantic 9.4-liter four-cylinder engine that produced 70 horsepower. This Type 5 has an opulent appearance including 23-carat gold leaf, a glorious eagle as a hood ornament and a miniature statue of the goddess Liberty on top of the bell. The estimated price is $100,000 to $200,000.
The most modern fire truck available is a 1956 American LaFrance 700 series ‘775-PJO’ pumpseen at top, a popular model from the early post-war period with the prototypical fire truck look. More than 3,000 were built over a twelve-year period, and the 700 series was instrumental in the move to the cab-forward configuration that is now standard. Although this truck originally had a V-12 engine, it was later replaced with a Detroit Diesel six-cylinder, and it comes with a 35-foot extension ladder and a 500-gallon booster tank. The price of the 700 series is estimated at between $15,000 and $25,000.
Another intriguing lot is not a fire truck, but the only remaining factory-built vehicle American LaFrance Type 8 Roadster from 1911the only car built by the company. American LaFrance manufactured fewer than 25 passenger cars, and although the few surviving photographs of these cars labeled them as ‘Chief’s Cars’, this example is believed to have been used by American LaFrance executives. Power came from the same four-cylinder engine as the Type 5, but the engine lived in a much shorter chassis and was mated to a unique transaxle gearbox. This special speedster is expected to fetch between $300,000 and $500,000.
The RM Sotheby’s auction, which includes a range of other vehicles in addition to the American LaFrance collection, starts on Friday, February 27. Even if you’re not looking for a vintage fire truck, it’s worth clicking through the listings to admire these shiny workhorses that once served communities across America.
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Caleb Miller started blogging about cars at the age of 13, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and driver team. He enjoys quirky and obscure cars, with a goal of one day owning something as bizarre as a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsport fan.
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