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| Hamden's First - A 1915 Maxim |
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In 1915, the Whitneyville Fire Association purchased this brand new Maxim triple combination pumping engine for $5,500. The apparatus was built on a Thomas Flyer chassis and was Hamden's first motorized apparatus. It was considered a triple "combination" engine because it had a 500 GPM rotary gear pump, it carried hose, and it also was a chemical truck, as can be seen by the transversely mounted tanks behind the driver's seat.
This 1915 Maxim also had the distinction of being the Maxim Company's first motorized pumping engine, as noted by author Walter McCall in his 1976 book, American Fire Engines Since 1900, (Crestline Publications, Inc., Glen Ellyn, IL: 1976).
Whitneyville also acquired a chemical truck from the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. in 1915. It was built on a 1910 Locomobile chassis. Winchester's "powder farm" represented a large portion of the area along Putnam Avenue in those days, and Winchester donated the Locomobile chemical truck for use on smaller grass and brush fires so that Whitneyville's new Maxim pumper would be reserved "for graver emergencies."
Until recently, it was thought that Whitneyville's 1915 Maxim was turned over to Dunbar Hill Co. 8 when Hamden bought a new Maxim 750 GPM pumper for Whitneyville Co. 3 in 1928. But it was Whitneyville's 1910 Locomobile that went to Dunbar Hill. The fate of Whitneyville's 1915 Maxim is as yet unknown.
(Notation revised 10/18/09 - DGJ)
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| c. 1930 - Mt. Carmel Station 5 - 1930 Maxim 600 GPM rotary gear pumper and 1921 Packard Twin-6 "Fire Patrol" Wagon (Photo courtesy of Gilbert Spencer) |
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Pictured on the front ramp at Station 5 in Mt. Carmel are a 1930 Maxim 600 GPM rotary gear pumper and a 1921 Packard Twin-6 "Fire Patrol" wagon. The Mt. Carmel Volunteer Fire Co. was organized on November 8, 1911. The company built the fire station in 1925 and it opened in January of 1926.
Starting with only one paid driver back then, career personnel have been stationed at the Mt. Carmel station ever since. The first paid driver in Mt. Carmel was Al Purce. Purce was one of the first two paid captains in 1942. He was assigned fire marshal duties in 1944, and became the Department's full time Marshal in 1949. Before the Hamden Fire Department was created in 1925, the duties of fire marshal fell to the First Selectman.
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| Sid Trower at Station 3 at the wheel of the 1926 Maxim 500 GPM rotary gear pumper (Photo courtesy of Joe McDermott) |
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| 1939 - The 1928 Maxim 750 on Putnam Avenue next to Station 3 (Photo by G. Donald Steele) |
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Winter 1951 - Engine 3 (1928 Maxim 750 GPM) at rubbish pile fire behind housing development on Fennbrook Dr. Driver is Ralph Rosson, along with mascot "Belle." (Photo by Chandler Brainard)
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| MAY 1939 - 1935 Dodge 150 GPM and 1919 Seagrave 750 GPM pumper (Copy of original photo courtesy of Chan Brainard) |
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Engine 7 (Mix District) - 1935 Dodge Bros. 150 GPM, purchased August 12, 1935 for $750. Utilized body of 1918 Stewart. Total cost: $1,267. Tank capacity 100 gal.
Engine 2 (Humphrey) - 1919 Seagrave 750 GPM, purchased June 1919 for $12.500. Transferred to Co. 1 on May 13, 1939 while Engine 1 was being repaired. (Job finished 1/25/1940) Balloon tires replaced the original solid rubber tires in 1925. Sent to Station 5 as a spare in 1942.
Whitneyville's 1910 Locomobile chemical truck and 1915 Thomas-Flyer Maxim combination pumper/chemical engine, as well as Humphrey's 1919 Seagrave 750 pumper, were Hamden's only right-hand drive apparatus. By 1916, virtually all American-made automobiles were left-hand drive.
But a few American fire apparatus manufacturers (most notably American LaFrance, Arhens-Fox, and Seagrave) continued to go with right-hand drive into the early 1930s, perhaps because it made spotting hydrants easier for the drivers. The smaller left-hand drive 1925 Seagrave Suburbanite was an exception because it was built on a different chassis from Seagrave's larger apparatus. (Also check out Co. 9's 1929 Seagrave tiller ladder truck on the Ladder Trucks page.)
From personal notes of Chief Charles Loller (courtesy of his great grandson, Russell Loller)
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| MAY 1939 - 1930 Maxim 600 GPM and 1924 Stutz 350 GPM (Copy of original photo courtesy of Chan Brainard) |
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Engine 5 (Mt. Carmel) - 1930 Maxim 600 GPM rotary gear pumper, purchased January 6, 1930 for $8,500. It was transferred from Station 5 to Station 6 on August 6, 1952.
Engine 6 (Merritt Street) - 1924 Stutz 350 GPM, purchased April 1924 for $7,150. Tank capacity 70 gals. Weight: 11,000 lbs.
From personal notes of Chief Charles Loller (courtesy of his great grandson, Russell Loller)
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| MAY 1939 - 1926 Maxim City Service Ladder and 1926 Maxim 500 GPM pumper (Copy of original photo courtesy of Chan Brainard) |
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Hook & Ladder Co. 1 (Highwood) - 1926 Maxim City Service Ladder Truck. Weight: 10,100 lbs. Purchased March 23, 1926. Windshield installed 2/15/38. On March 19, 1941 at 4:31 p.m., this ladder truck was struck by a trolley car at the corner of Dixwell Avenue and Mather Street and was subsequently traded into the Wood Engineering Service of Topsfield, Massachusetts for a new city service ladder truck on a Diamond-T chassis.
Engine 1 (Highwood) - 1926 Maxim 500 GPM rotary gear pumper. Purchased March 23, 1926. Traded in to the O.B. Maxwell Co. on January 18, 1954 for $900.00 toward purchase of a 1954 Maxim pumper.
Purchase price for both apparatus was $12,500.
From personal notes of Chief Charles Loller (courtesy of his great grandson, Russell Loller)
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| MAY 1939 - 1928 Maxim 750 GPM, 1925 Seagrave Suburbanite 350 GPM, and 1918 Stewart Chemical (Copy of original photo courtesy of Chan Brainard) |
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Engine 3 (Whitneyville) - 1928 Maxim 750 GPM rotary gear pumper, purchased February 1928 for $12,500. 70 gal. tank. Weight: 14,000 lbs. Traded in to the O.B. Maxwell in July 1952 for $500 toward purchase on new 1952 Maxim 750 GPM pumper.
Spare - 1925 Seagrave Suburbanite 350 GPM, purchased May 7, 1925 for $6.500. Original tank capacity was 40 gal. Weight: 10,000 lbs. (Removed from service as Engine 4 in April 1938. This became Engine 8 on September 18, 1939 after it was sent to Boston to have the 350 GPM pump removed and replaced with a 150 GPM pump and have a 200 gal. tank added.) Traded in to the O.B. Maxwell Co. in 1959 for $250.00 toward purchase of the 1959 Maxim "cab-forward" pumper.
Engine 8 (Dunbar Hill) - 1918 Stewart - Originally purchased by Mt. Carmel Vol. Co. on December 24, 1918 for $1,900. Tranferred to Co. 8 on August 18, 1930. Sold September 1939.
From personal notes of Chief Charles Loller (courtesy of his great grandson, Russell Loller)
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This is the April 1938 delivery photo of Hamden's new 1938 Seagrave Canopy Cab 600 GPM pumper in front of the north-facing bay doors of the Town Hall fire station (Station 4) before the bay doors were relocated to face Whitney Avenue.
Apparently this pumper was a "floor model" that was already painted the bright "Seagrave Red" when it was purchased by Hamden. Within months this pumper was repainted the darker "Maxim Red," as can be seen in the 1939 photo right below this one. Note that the words "FIRE DEPARTMENT" were omitted from the hood of the Seagrave when it was repainted.
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| MAY 1939 - 1938 Diamond-T Squad e/w 150 GPM pump and 1938 Seagrave Canopy Cab 600 GPM pumper. L-R: Roland Ruwet, 1st Asst. Chief Raymond C. Spencer, Joseph Dukat, and Robert Reutenauer |
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Emergency Squad - 1938 Diamond-T e/w 150 GPM pump and deluge set. Placed in service at Station 4 at 6 p.m. on February 26, 1938. Cost $1,976. Weight: 10,500 lbs. Sold at auction in November 1971 for $272.00.
Engine 4 - 1938 Seagrave Canopy Cab 600 GPM pumper. 100 gal. tank. Placed in service at Station 4 as Engine 4 on April 12, 1938. Cost: $7.524. Transferred to Co. 2 on June 13, 1939, where it remained until it was sold three decades later. Weight: 13,000 lbs.
From personal notes of Chief Charles Loller (courtesy of his great grandson, Russell Loller)
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June 13, 1939 - Two commissioners and Chief Charles Loller inspect Hamden's new Diamond-T 500 GPM pumper from the Wood Engineering Co. of Topsfield, Massachusetts. It went in service as Engine 4. The Seagrave canopy cab pumper, delivered the year before, was transferred to Station 2.
The shorter gentleman at the left is not identified, but may be Commissioner Albert Ruwet. The taller gentleman is Commissioner Thomas Miller, who was a life member of the Mt. Carmel Volunteer Fire Co.
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| 1940 Photo - 1939 Diamond-T 500 GPM pumper |
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| CLICK to enlarge |
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These three photos, courtesy of Gil Spencer, were labeled "testing pump, 1939, Mill River, Whitney Avenue." The two pumpers in the photos are Engine 5, a 1930 Maxim with a 600 GPM pump, and the new 1938 Diamond-T squad, which was equipped with a 150 GPM pump.
It is hard to tell from the barn and the surrounding typography of 70 years ago just where on Whitney Avenue at Mill River these photos may have been shot. They may have been taken in Mt. Carmel, between Mt. Carmel and Tuttle Avenues, or perhaps in Centerville just south of where Rt. 15 crosses today. Old streets maps show a "Whitney Lane" that ran west off Whitney about where the parkway crosses today.
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| 1942 Diamond-T 600 GPM pumper at Station 5 in 1953. (Photo courtesy of Tom Doherty) |
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This 1942 Diamond-T 600 GPM pumper was purchased new by Hamden for $4,375, and was placed in service on April 6, 1942 as Engine 1 at the Highwood station. It was transferred briefly to Station 3 in October 1951, and then to Station 5 the following year.
On December 10, 1957, another 1942 Diamond-T pumper (BELOW) went in service. It was a 500 GPM model, purchased from Prospect by Dunbar Hill Co. 8 for $1,500.
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| Memorial Day 1970 - Co. 8's 1942 Diamond-T 500 GPM pumper, purchased from Prospect by Company 8 on December 10, 1957. This is NOT the same 1942 Diamond-T 600 GPM pumper that was purchased by Hamden in April 1942 to be Engine 1. (Photo by Ed Doiron) |
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| 1951 Maxim 750 GPM pumper |
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| 1951 Maxim 750 GPM (Copy of original photo courtesy of Chan Brainard) |
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1951 Maxim 750 GPM pumper - Delivered August 7, 1951, and placed in service at Station 2. This was the first Maxim apparatus purchased by Hamden since 1930. Nine more Maxims would follow in the next 23 years. The above two photos were taken after this piece was transferred to Station 3 on August 4, 1952.
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July 28, 1952 - Delivery of a 1952 Maxim 750 GPM pumper. Hamden's second postwar Maxim pumper is received at the Repair Shop behind Station 2. The Board of Fire Commissioners are pictured here with Chief Raymond C. Spencer (2nd from right) and Supt. Clem Wetmore (far right).
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1957 - Hamden's 1952 Maxim 750 GPM pumper on the ramp at Station 2.
From July 29, 1959, when the 1938 Diamond-T Squad was taken out of service to become Engine 9, until the February 9, 1960 delivery of the '60 International (Rescue 2), the 1952 Maxim served as "the Squad" out of Headquarters. It was then transferred to Station 5 as Engine 5. (Photo courtesy of Chan Brainard)
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Delivery photo of Hamden's 1954 Maxim 750 GPM pumper
(Photo courtesy of Chan Brainard)
Delivery photo of Hamden's 1954 Maxim 750 GPM pumper. It was placed in service at Headquarters on October 3, 1954. Half of the $16, 968 cost of this pumper was paid by Civil Defense, hence the "CD" logo on the door. Unlike the previous two Maxim pumpers, the 1954 had flat side compartments. This engine was still in service as a volunteer piece into the 1990s.
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Delivery photo of Hamden's 1959 Maxim 750 GPM "cab-forward" pumper
(Photo courtesy of Chan Brainard)
In 1915, the Whitneyville Volunteer Fire Association purchased Maxim's first motorized pumping engine. Forty-four years later, the Hamden Fire Department purchased Maxim's first "cab-forward" pumper, a Model F-2617-C 750 GPM pumping engine, for $19,135.
This pumper was delivered painted white on June 29, 1959 and was Engine 2 for most of its active days. In 1971, it was repainted "Maxim red" along with the 1958 junior aerial truck. In 1974, it was reassigned to Station 3 as Engine 6, which had become the designation for the Department's spare. In 1981, it was repowered with a diesel engine. And on January 24, 1995, the 1959 Maxim "cab-forward" was retired from service.
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| Memorial Day 1966 - 1959 Maxim 750 GPM "Cab-Forward" (Photo by Ed Doiron) |
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Starting in 1958, with the purchase of the Maxim 75' "Junior" aerial ladder and the 1958 International Travel-al rescue, the Board of Fire Commissioners began ordering Hamden's apparatus in white - just like its neighbor to the south.
Hamden went back to red apparatus with the purchase of the 1965 Mack 750 GPM pumper. Ever since the 1984 purchase of two identical Pierce pumpers, Hamden pumpers and trucks have sported red bodies with white cab roofs.
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| 1965 Mack 750 GPM pumper |
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1965 Mack 750 GPM pumper, the first new apparatus after HFD went back to red. It was first placed in service on August 18, 1965 as a temporary replacement while Engine 2 was being repaired, and then was permanently assigned to Headquarters as Engine 4.
The '65 Mack was the first new full-size apparatus on a commercial chassis since the Diamond-Ts that were purchased before World War II, and it is the last to date. The '65 Mack served as Engine 4, Engine 2, Engine 5, Engine 9 and Engine 7 before being retired in 2000.
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| November 1968 - Two new Maxim S-model 1000 GPM pumpers |
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Mayor William Adams presents two 1968 Maxim Model-S 1000 GPM pumpers to Chief V. Paul Leddy, while Dep. Chief Training Officer Daniel Hume and Supt. of Alarms and Apparatus Clem Wetmore look on. They were designated Engine 3 and Engine 4.
In 1974, they were transferred to Station 2 as Engine 1 and Engine 2.
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| 1974 - Two new Maxim pumpers |
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Chief V. Paul Leddy and Mayor Lucien DiMeo pose in front of Station 4 with two new Maxim pumpers, delivered in early 1974. Although these pumpers arrived in 1974, delivery documents indicate that they were 1973 models. These would be the last of ten postwar purchases from Maxim.
In the foreground is Engine 4, a Maxim 1000 GPM pumper (Chassis Model FFC 7510-C) powered with a 320 h.p. Cummins diesel engine. It was equipped with a foam delivery system consisting of an onboard foam bladder that was suspended inside the tank, a cab-mounted turret nozzle that could be operated from inside the cab, and a pair of ground sweeps mounted beneath the front bumper. This pumper was specially equipped so that it could pump and roll at the same time. It was placed in service at Station 4 on February 7, 1974.
In the background is Engine 3, a Maxim 1000 GPM "Telesqurt" (Chassis Model FFC 7510-C) powered with a 320 h.p. Cummins diesel engine. The telesqurt was operated from the rear step. It was placed in service at Station 3 on April 1, 1974.
Engine 4 was originally intended to be Engine 3 because of Station 3's proximity to the tank farm on Welton Street. The Telesqurt was originally intended to be Engine 4, but it would not fit inside Station 4, and had to be housed at Station 3.
After two new 1000 g.p.m. Pierce "Dash" pumpers were delivered in December 1984, the Pierce Co. of Appleton, Wisconsin rebuilt both of these pumpers. Each received a new body with high-side compartments, and a new two-tone paint job. The "Telesqurt" returned to service as Engine 3. The foam delivery system on Engine 4 was removed and it went back in service as Engine 9. Both pieces remained in service until the late 1990s. Just why the front bumper is missing from the "new" Engine 9 in the 1985 photo (below on the right) is a mystery.
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| 1973 Telesqurt rebuilt and back as Engine 3. The new high-side compartments are on the driver's side. |
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| Old Engine 4 rebuilt and back in service as Engine 9 |
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| 1978 Pierce Mini-Pumper on Ford F350 Chassis - 250 GPM pump (Photo by Ed Doiron) |
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| March 1985 - Engine 2, a 1984 Pierce "Dash" 1000 GPM pumper on the ramp at Station 2. One of two identical pumpers delivered in December 1984. The other 1984 Pierce "Dash" was assigned as Engine 4. |
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| October 23, 1997 - Engine 2 - 1997 3D 1250 GPM with 750 gal. tank and Class A foam (Photo courtesy of Tim Sullivan) |
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| Engine 4 - 1999 3D 1250 GPM pumper |
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| Engine 4 - 2001 3D 1250 GPM pumper (Photo courtesy of Tim Sullivan) |
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| "The Squad" at Station 4 - September 22, 2009 |
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| Rear compartment of Squad 1 |
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All photos on this website not otherwise in the Public Domain, as well as all commentary,
are © Copyright 2009-10 by the Hamden Fire Retirees' Assn.
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