Fire Dept. Steams Into Its 100th Year
Back in 1887, when it was new, the coal-burning, steam-powered, horse-drawn engine was just the thing to attack fires in then-tiny Los Angeles. It could pump 750 gallons of water a minute.
Now, as part of the city Fire Department’s effort to mark its 100th anniversary year, the antique has been lovingly (and sometimes painfully) restored. Reassembly work on the Amoskeag crane-neck steam pumper, which was retired from active duty in 1921, was mostly done by Firefighters Lane Kemper, Larry Lane and Tony Zar.
The Amoskeag was the first equipment purchased by the newly formed paid city Fire Department, although the volunteer department, disbanded in 1886, had bought two. By 1910, the city had 17 such engines in service.
Private donations paid 80% of the $15,000 restoration cost, with the city paying the rest.
The steamer served a variety of stations before it was mounted on a barge and used as an auxiliary “fire boat.”
The restored, horse-drawn engine will be publicly displayed for the first time this weekend at a Fire Department muster at Van Nuys Airport.
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