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The Ford Model-T is perhaps one of the best-known early American automobiles, with more than 15 million built and sold from 1908 to 1927. Many Model-Ts saw duty in industrial, commercial, and municipal applications, such as firefighting. This Model-T Chemical Truck shows how adaptable these vehicles were to the needs of different communities. Many smaller towns and cities took advantage of the Model-T not only because it was cheap and easy to maintain, but also because of its smaller frame. Model-Ts could often be driven into areas larger and heavier rigs couldn't reach.
In these smaller communities, using everyday automobiles for firefighting was extremely common. Car or truck chassis could easily be fitted with fire equipment, including chemical tanks, water pumps, and hose baskets. Many large apparatus companies recognized this and began to release factory kits that could be installed on commercial vehicles.
This home rigging is evident in our 1926 Model-T Chemical Truck. In 1981, Fire Chief Harold Capper of the Clifford, Indiana Volunteer Fire Department purchased a 1926 Model-T to serve as the town’s fire engine. Capper equipped the Model-T with two American LaFrance 30-gallon copper chemical tank systems, a 2.5-gallon foam fire extinguisher, a 1.5-quart carbon tetrachloride pump-type fire extinguisher, and a basket that held 150 feet of hose.
