Southern California SPAAMFAA Chapter Hosts Antique Fire Apparatus Tour

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The Society for the Preservation and Appreciation of Antique Motor Fire Apparatus in America, also known as SPAAMFAA, is a national organization of men and women who are dedicated to the conservation of fire apparatus history. Founded in Syracuse, New York in 1958, this group boasts over 3,000 members and has 50 chapters across the United States and around the world.

The Southern California Chapter of SPAAMFAA, the Crown Firecoach Enthusiasts, have 336 members, and although owning an antique fire apparatus is not a requirement for membership, approximately one third of the Southern California Chapter's members are owners. On October 25, 2008, the group hosted an Antique Fire Truck Tour that was open to all of its members and the general public. Attendees were able to visit five fire stations that own antique apparatus, making stops in Redlands, Loma Linda, Colton, Rialto and Fontana. Each department proudly displayed their trucks, offering Southern Californians a first hand look at fire service history. As Chris Cavette, the SPAAMFAA Chapter Editor, said, "It is nice to see these rigs in their stations because in many cases they'll never leave the city limits again."

One highlight of the tour was the Redlands Fire Department's collection of Seagrave fire apparatus. A loyal Seagrave customer since 1909 when they purchased a Seagrave motorized chemical wagon, they still own two of their antique engines. Their 1919 Seagrave Engine was in service until 1952, when the city sold it to a Chino, California farmer for pumping irrigation water. Upon his death many years later, his widow sold the rig back to the Redlands Fire Department for $1.00, according to Ralph Serrano, a Southern California SPAAMFAA member. In 1989, the city commissioned the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco to restore it, and the prisoners there performed a frame-up restoration on it, preserving many of the original pieces. This fire truck is rare in that it has a 4-cylinder engine, built at a time when 6-cylinder engines were predominantly used.

The Redlands Fire Department's second historic truck is a 1936 Seagrave Pumper, which was not retired until the early 1970's. Until then it was used as a hose wagon paired with a pumper that carried 2000' of 2 ½" hose. Keeping with tradition, the fire department's latest purchase was a 2007 Seagrave Engine.

The Southern California Chapter of SPAAMFAA has been designated to host the 2009 SPAAMFAA National Winter Conference in Pomona, California from February 25-28, 2009, and will be welcoming members from across the country and around the world. The National Meeting will include a formal board meeting, several guest speakers on various topics, an antique fire truck display that will be open to the public, and tours of various fire service museums and places of interest in Southern California. For further information, visit the Southern California SPAAMFAA Chapter's website at www.crownfirecoachent.com or the National SPAAMFAA website at www.spaamfaa.org.