It is with great excitement that we get this opportunity to share with you the details of a project that has been in the works for more than a year. In late 2018 we were contacted by a man by the name of William (Bill) Simkins of Santa Cruz, CA, who decades ago bought a fire engine that he found in a barn in Bethlehem, PA to be used as a decorative piece in the lobby of his insurance business. In the process of restoring the engine’s exterior to its original state, he found “Cos Cob Fire Co No.1” when he stripped it down to the original paint coat.
Over the course of a number of conversations, it became apparent that Bill was reaching out for a very specific reason. He expressed to us that he felt his role in the engines history, is that of its caretaker and wanted to return the engine to its proper home as a donation. What Bill didn’t know is that his donation would only be accepted under very specific terms. It needed to be a package deal we wanted him too! Chief Willson shared with Bill that the fire company had voted him in as an honorary member and to celebrate that Bill was given a mounted chiefs helmet.
In May of 2019 John Chimblo and Chief Gary Willson went to Santa Cruz to load the engine on to a trailer to begin its trip back home to Cos Cob. This trip was the first step of many to get us to where we are today. Over the last 12 months hundreds of hours have been put into a full mechanical restoration in order to get the LaFrance running and driving again. This upcoming St. Patricks Day Parade on March 22nd we couldn’t be more excited to announce that Bill and his wife Brigid are coming to Greenwich to ride their engine down Greenwich Avenue leading all of the volunteer fire companies. We hope you will join us in celebrating the return of a piece of Greenwich’s history as well as the generosity of a fantastic family.
We also need to thank a number of vendors and manufacturers for their help in getting our antique back running a driving.
Atlantic Coastal Welding
Bayville NJ
Speedytank.com
Andy Swift
Fire Fly Restorations
Hope Maine
All Glass Co. Inc.
Cos Cob Ct.
Allglassinc.com
Bob’s Speedometer
Howell MI
Bobsspeedometer.com
Corsi Tire
Ossining NY
Corsitire.com
Rhode Island Wiring Service
West Kingston RI
Rewire.com
Additional Information:
Cos Cob’s 1935 American LaFrance Metropolitan 400 Senior served the town of Greenwich from 1935 until 1963 when it was sold to Bridgeport Hydraulics Co.
When it was originally purchased it was state of the art, designed with an advanced 754 cubic inch V12 engine that produced 240 horsepower which was attached to a 1000 Gallon Per Minute (GPM) pump.
The serial number on the LaFrance is SN 7702 which identifies it as the third one ever manufactured by American LaFrance in 1935
Pictures of the 1935 American LaFrance
