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Los Angeles Fire Department
Historical Archive


Ladder Truck Inventory and Assignment
1910 to 1938

BY WALT PITTMAN


 
Shop No. Year Builder & Type Price Original Assignment

1875

Hook & Ladder
Built by local wagon builder, hand-drawn

Engine Co.38's No.1

1876 Village Hook & Ladder,
hand-drawn

Engine Co.38's No.1

1881 Hayes Hook & Ladder
65' wood extension ladder, horse-drawn
* The first aerial ladder in U.S.

1881 - Vigilance Hook & Ladder No.1
1896 - Truck A at Engine Co.3

1897 Babock Aerial Ladder
The Fire Equipment Co. of Chicago
85' wood aerial, horse-drawn

Truck B at Engine Co.8

75

1898 Seagrave
City Service Truck, horse-drawn

Truck C at Engine Co.10
76 1898 Babcock
City Service Truck, horse-drawn

Truck D at Engine Co.11

1900 Truck A at Engine Co. No. 4, 227 Aliso Street
Truck
B at Engine Co. No. 3, 346 South Hill Street
Truck
C at Engine Co. No.10, 1615 South Hill Steet
Truck
D at Engine Co. No.11, 1819 West 7th Street

1905 Truck designations changed to numbers:
Truck
B changed to Truck Co.2 at Engine Co. No. 3, 346 South Hill Street
Truck
C changed to Truck Co.3 at Engine Co. No.10, 1615 South Hill Steet
Truck
D changed to Truck Co.4 at Engine Co. No.11, 1819 West 7th Street

Truck A is disbanded and members transfered to Water Tower 1.

79 1905 Gorter 65 Water Tower
LAFD shop built, horse-drawn

Water Tower 1 at Engine Co.4
74 1905 Seagrave
85' wood arial, horse-drawn
Replaces the Babcock 85' aerial

In Service 1906
Truck Co.2 at Engine Co.3

1906 Note: The Babcock 85' aerial was taken out of service and removed from the roster. Chief Lips proposed changing the Babcock into a Heavy City Service Truck however official records do not confirm this. However, one of the aerial trucks of this era was motorized with a
Christie Tractor and desiginated as Shop Number 75. (Shop numbers came into use about 1914.) The Babcock was the likley canidate because of its steel frame and tiller.
73 1910 Anderson
City Service Truck, horse-drawn

In service 1911
Truck Co.1 at Engine Co.4

1911 Water Tower 1 moved to Engine Co. No.24
77 1911 First LAFD auto-drawn   Aerial
Seagrave AC90
65' wood Aerial
$11,840. Truck 5 at Engine Co.23
78 1911 Seagrave AC80
City Service Truck
$8,500. Truck 6 at Engine Co.26
102 1914 Seagrave L-756
75' wood Aerial

In service 1915
Truck 7 at Engine Co.28
103 1914 Seagrave J-506
City Service Truck,
Straight-Frame w/Tiller

In service 1915
Truck 8 at Engine Co.26
104 1914 Seagrave J-506
City Service Truck,
Straight-Frame w/Tiller

In service 1915
Truck 9 at Engine Co.27

1916 Closed due to the start of the 2-platoon system:
Truck 3
Truck 4

*Shop numbers appear in the records and were assigned to all apparatus.

74 1918 American La-France Type 17
4-wheeled Tractor
purchased to motorize s/n 74
$6,500. In service Sept. 8, 1918
Truck 2 at Engine Co.3

1919 * Horses taken out of service:
Truck 1 -
The horse drawn 1910 Anderson City Service Truck (s/n73)
was motorized with the
1913 Seagrave Tractor removed from Engine 30's Steamer.

Placed in Relief -
The horse-drawn 1898 Seagrave City Service Truck (s/n 75) was motorized with the 1915 Christie Tractor that had been removed from Steamer s/n 21.


1920 Taken out of service due to budget cuts:
Truck 3
Truck 4
Truck 5

1921 * Last fire horses taken out of service:
On July 19,1921 Water Tower 1, the last horse drawn Company on the LAFD was taken out of service.
The 1905 Gorter 65' was motorized with the
1918 American La-France 2-wheeled Type 31 Tractor (s/n 22) taken from Engine 3's Steamer. The Gorter Water Tower was renumbered s/n 79 and returned to service at Engine Co.24 on October 13, 1921

1921 Truck 5 restored to service and relocated to Engine Co.24

1922 On the morning of February 12, 1922, Truck 5 was involved in a fatal accident at 9th and Stanford Street. Fireman H. J. Custer was killed and five other firemen injured. The aerial trailor of s/n 77 was destroyed while the tractor, which had been rebuilt with a water-cooled engine during 1919, was relatively undamaged. The tractor was attached to a 1905 Seagrave 85' aerial (s/n74) and became s/n 77 Truck 5 and went back into service at Engine Co.5 on May 22, 1922.
74 1922 American La-France 85'Trailer
attached to s/n 74's

1918 American La-France Tractor
$7,750. In service Sept. 8, 1922
Truck 2 at Engine Co.3

1924 Restored to service:
Truck 3 at Engine Co.11
Truck 4 at Engine Co.29
190 1923 Seagrave L-856
85' Aerial
$15,431. Truck 7 at Engine Co.28
191 1923 Seagrave L-856
85' Aerial
$15,431. Truck 6 at Engine Co.4
192 1923 Seagrave L-856
85' Aerial
$15,431. Truck 9 at Engine Co.27
193 1923 Seagrave L-856
85' Aerial
$15,431. Truck 2 at Engine Co.3
194 1923 Seagrave L-856
85' AT
$15,431. In service 1924
Truck 14 at Engine Co.48
195 1923 Stutz
City Service Truck
$10,250. Truck 10 at Engine Co.2
196 1923 Stutz
City Service Truck
$10,250. In service 1924
Truck 11 at Engine Co.30
197 1923 Stutz
City Service Truck
$10,250. In service 1924
Truck 12 at Engine Co.1
198 1923 Stutz
City Service Truck
$10,250. In service 1924
Truck 13 at Engine Co.22
199 1923 Stutz
City Service Truck
$10,250 Relief

1926 Water Tower 1 relocated to Engine Co.5
856 1926 Seagrave J-506
City Service Truck
$11,750. Truck 5 at Engine Co.5
875 1928 Seagrave L-506
City Service Truck
$12,495. Truck 18 at Engine Co.17
876 1928 Seagrave L-506
City Service Truck
$12,495. Truck 8 at Engine Co.26
1004 1929 Seagrave L-506
City Service Truck
$11,500. In service 1930
Truck 19 at Engine Co.61
1005 1929 Seagrave L-506
City Service Truck
$11,500. Truck 16 at Engine Co.20
1011 1929 Seagrave L-506
City Service Truck
$11,500. In service 1930
Truck 20 at Engine Co.66
1021 1930 Seagrave L-506
City Service Truck
$11,490. Truck 4 at Engine Co.29

1932 *All Truck Company numbers changed December 7, 1932 to match the station they are assigned.
74 1936 American La France
V-12 Tractor
$9,100. Truck 10 at Engine Co.10
1080 1938 American La France
City Service Truck
$21,450. Truck 22 at Engine Co.22
1081 1938 American La France
City Service Truck
$21,450. Truck 2 at Engine Co.2
1084 1938 Seagrave
100ft Metal Aerial
$24,000. Truck 3 at Engine Co.3
1085 1938 American La-France
City Service Truck Water Tower
$28,000. Truck 24 at Engine Co.3
         


 


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