The City of LaFayette purchased its first motorized fire truck in February, 1926. The fire truck that was purchased for the then exuberant amount of $11,260 was a 1926 American-LaFrance Foamite Type 40 Trip #5534. This mean it was a triple combination pumping, chemical & hose fire engine.

The fire truck that was delivered & remains here at the city today is a 600 gallon fire truck, powered by a 4 cylinder, 75 horsepower engine. It is chain driven, has a hand crank & mechanical brakes. Unlike so many other cities, LaFayette chose to keep its vintage fire truck for the past 88 years. According to the Antique Fire Truck Club of America, only 120 Type 40 Trip’s were ever built, making our very own city fire truck exceedingly rare.

While the truck has remained in good condition & has been kept safely indoors & out of the elements, it is still 88 years old, and like anything of advancing age, it needs some general repairs. The city would like to eventually do a full restoration of our classic fire engine that it so clearly deserves, however at this time we would like to raise enough funds to make old #5534 safe & roadworthy once again.

The city is looking to raise $10,000 for the general repairs which would be used to purchase new tires, have the original wooden wheels repaired/restored & to make other much needed repairs such as rebuilding the starter & carburetor. Because of the advanced age of #5534, parts are rare & don’t come cheap.

The city has created a GO FUND ME account which is way or raising funds online. Interested parties can donate funds from $1-$10,000 to contribute to the cause. The funds will be placed in a WEPAY Account (similar to a PAYPAL) account, and moved over to a city bank account, where the repairs can begin.  You can check out the Go FUND ME campaign at http://www.gofundme.com/lafayettefiretruck

We would like to have the fire truck running & driving again, where our citizens can enjoy it & appreciate this rare asset that has been here since new.

If you have questions about the fire truck, or the campaign, please email mwilliams@cityoflafayettega.org