Friday, Sep. 05, 2008

Roanoke’s First Fire Engine Called for Duty

By A. Lee Graham

Staff Writer

Roanoke hopes to reactivate its first fire engine — not as a firefighting foot soldier but as a moving model of pride.

"We’re taking the old fire engine and sending it to Dallas in hopes of getting the engine fixed," said Fire Chief Mike Duncan, planning to use the American La France truck, which the town acquired in 1948, in public parades and other events.

"We hope to start using it as a rolling display as opposed to a static display," Duncan said.

To that end, firefighters pushed the venerable engine onto a trailer before its Dallas voyage. A cracked cylinder and other problems have kept it behind glass at the city’s original fire station at Oak and Main streets. But like any firefighter, Roanoke’s mechanized teammate seems eager for action.

Its history began in 1948 when nine residents formed the city’s first volunteer fire department and purchased the vehicle. The 1923 model La France served the town through the early 1970s. Decommissioned and taken to the Texas Fire Museum in Dallas, the vehicle remained there until former Roanoke Fire Chief Brian Hecht led fundraising efforts to restore the engine.

"He brought it back here, and firefighters did the lion’s share of restoration on it," Duncan said. "It was run a few times in parades, then it was static."

That ends when the engine is repaired and returns to its adopted hometown.

"We’re looking forward to it," Duncan said.