Antique firetruck honored on 100th birthday
A rare 1925 Ahrens Fox piston pumper led a parade of vintage fire trucks through the borough.
'Ahrens Fox was billed as the Rolls Royce of fire trucks,' said Michael Kitsock, the museum's curator. 'The piston pumper is the most collectable of antique fire trucks.'
Marked by a large chrome pressure ball on its front, the piston pumper was popular with metropolitan fire departments because of its ability to supply water to tall buildings.
'The Ahrens Fox had a very unique style,' Kitsock said. 'It was a great pumper.'
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Mike Kitsock, fire historian, drives the 100-year-old Ahrens Fox pumper in Shenandoah. (RON DEVLIN/STAFF PHOTO)
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A model of 1925 Ahrens Fox pumper in the Schuylkill Historical Fire Company museum, Shenandoah. (RON DEVLIN/STAFF PHOTO)
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Mike Kitsock, fire historian, drives the 100-year-old Ahrens Fox pumper in Shenandoah. (RON DEVLIN/STAFF PHOTO)
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Truck's History
The Ahrens Fox piston pumper was delivered to the Citizens Hose Company No. 5 of Lock Haven in 1925.
It served as a first line pumper for the Lock Haven fire department until 1948, when it was sold to the newly-formed Valley Fire Company, which used it until the early 1960s.
Subsequently, it was sold to Brooklyn Hose Company in Lewistown, where it was used as a parts truck for their 1924 Ahrens Fox piston pumper.
Abandoned in a field, the old truck was purchased by firefighters from the Rescue Fire Company No. 3 in Shamokin in 1963.
During its restoration, Shamokin firefighters traveled to Ahrens Fox in Cincinnati, Ohio, in search of parts. Though Ahrens Fox was out of business, they managed to find parts and return it to running order.
It was used in the Shamokin's centennial parade in 1964, and became a fixture in parades throughout the Shamokin area for several decades.
Despite their extensive work, the restoration committee was unable to find missing parts for the truck's pump until the1990s, when the pump was restored to working order.
In 2023, the 98-year-old truck was donated to the Schuylkill Historical Fire Society. It is on permanent display in the society's museum in the former Columbia Hose and Steam Engine Company No. 1 at 105 S. Jardin St., Shenandoah.
Formed in 1999, the society has around 100 antique fire trucks stored in a former warehouse in Mahanoy City. Its collection includes an 1809 Pat Lyons hand pumper, a 1926 Ford Model T fire truck and a 1929 Ahrens Fox pumper once housed at Good Intent Fire Company in Pottsville.
Happy 100th
Phillip Groody, longtime Ashland Fire Chief, moderated a birthday party for the truck at the fire society museum following the parade.
Frank Zangari, Girardville fire chief and president of the Schuylkill County Fire Chief's Association, was the guest speaker at a reception following the parade.
Kurt Tadich, fire society president, talked about the significance of the Ahrens Fox.
Trustees Ned Beck, Pete Rinaldi and Dave Dawson were presented with awards.
The gathered crowd sang 'Happy Birthday' to the old truck before cutting a cake in its honor.
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