1907 American LaFrance Metropolitan
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Description
1907 American LaFrance Metropolitan Type Pumper. Built in 1907 by the American LaFrance Company for Philadelphia, this 900 gallon per minute pumper was pulled by three horses and was in service at Engine 11 until 1923.
This was a steam driven pump. The coal bin at the tail end of the apparatus was where the coal was shoveled into the boiler with the smokestack on top. The boiler created steam to drive the two pistons in front of the boiler to pump the water into the fire. The giant "bulb" behind the driver's seat was an air chamber used to maintain steady pressure on the pumped water. The eight foot "suction hose" on each side of the pumper supplied water when one end was attached to a fire hydrant and the other to the intake on the side of pumper. The pumper was accompanied by a combination hose and chemical wagon pulled by two horses that carried 2 1/2 inch hose, which was attached to the outlets at the bottom of the pumper.
It was the pumping action of the steam pumper that supplied the pressure to enable the water from an external hydrant to reach the fire.
On display at the Fireman's Hall Museum in Philadelphia.
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