In December 2005, it was announced that Freightliner had transferred the ownership of American LaFrance to the New York-based investment firm, Patriarch Partners, LLC. As of 2005, they are the fifth largest manufacturer of emergency vehicles in North America. ALF has additional manufacturing facilities in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, Sanford, Florida, and Hamburg, New York. Many of their Liberty products are built on Freightliner LLC M2 or Sterling Acterra chassis. Freightliner continued to utilize American LaFrance's original nameplates and designations including the Eagle custom chassis.
In 1995, the company was bought by Freightliner LLC, which is a subsidiary of Daimler AG. The company has recently undergone a major rebirth and is once again turning out distinct custom fire trucks and other emergency vehicles. Some of the company's innovations led to changes in the industry, most notably the cab forward style cab. The classical style of the American LaFrance apparatus is easily recognized. Over the years, American LaFrance built thousands of fire trucks including chemical engines, combination pumpers, aerial ladder trucks, Aero Chief snorkel trucks, and even airport crash trucks. ALF delivered its first motorized fire engine in 1907. It also operated a Canadian plant in Toronto, Ontario, where it sold apparatus under the name Lafrance-Foamite, until 1971. Its corporate offices and manufacturing plant were located in Elmira, New York. The American LaFrance Fire Engine Company was officially formed in 1903. Apparatus built by International included everything from horse drawn steamers, hose wagons, and hook & ladders to chemical engines, water towers and combinations.
The International Fire Engine Company, corporate predecessor of American LaFrance, built some steam power fire engines between 1903-1907. Founded in 1873 by Truckson LaFrance and his partners as the LaFrance Manufacturing Company selling hand powered equipment. With roots that go back to approximately 1832, the companies that went on to become American LaFrance built hand-drawn, horse-drawn, and steam-powered fire engines. One of the oldest and most famous fire apparatus manufacturers in America is the American LaFrance Fire Engine Company. The new company was dubbed the American-LaFrance Fire Engine Company, and was headquarterd at the old LaFrance plant in Elmira, NY. On October 1, 1903, the directors of American and International proposed merging those two companies, and the merger was completed in early 1904. We have only seen a few of these highly desirable certificates.Ĭertificate Vignette In 1900, the same people who owned the American Fire Engine Company, assembled a second group of fire engine manufacturers (including LaFrance Fire Engine Company of Elmira, NY), and named this new firm the International Fire Engine Company. This historic document was printed by the American Banknote Company and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of an eagle. In October, 1997 “Old Smokey” was reunited with the department when it was donated back to the community.Beautifully engraved RARE SPECIMEN Preferred Share Certificate from the American - La France Fire Engine Company printed around 1915. businessman who used it for parades and giving children rides. Unbeknownst to the firemen it had been purchased by a Saugatuck, Mich. The truck was believed to have been junked for scrap. It was repaired and remained in service through the late 1950s. In 1932 the truck was damaged in an accident. This is where we believe the nickname “Old Smokey” originated. After the water cooled the engine it was sent into the exhaust system where it created large amounts of steam. Water from the fire pump was used to cool the engine when the truck sat stationary at a fire. The truck had a 1,000 gallon a minute pump (a rarity in firefighting at that time), a hose bed and 40 gallon chemical tank. Its arrival via railroad generated a lot of excitement in the community. It was built at a cost of $10,000 by the American LaFrance Fire Engine Company, Inc. The second commercially built fire engine (type 12 car, type 45 Triple Combination) to serve South Haven was put into service in March, 1923.
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