1941 Chevrolet / American LaFrance Pumper

Owned by Dennis Darouse Bolter # 19413 Hammond, Louisiana Talking about this truck in the DITY Gallery

From Dennis :

First, thanks for the offer to be put in the main Stovebolt Gallery. Second, since I have found this site, I have become addicted. Since my retirement, I became the 9-1-1 Director for our Parish (county to the rest of the U.S.) -- Tangipahoa 9-1-1 -- and I check out Stovebolt as least three or four times most everyday, trying to learn how to do more than just hold a screwdriver. Thanks so much for this site!

This is my 1941 Chevrolet / American LaFrance pumper. (There are plenty more pictures in my Photobucket album.) This Chevrolet Art Deco series fire engine was originally purchased by the City of Magnolia Mississippi Fire Department. The motor number was AG1000890 and the American LaFrance number is B1167. So far, I am unable to find the VIN on this truck. (By the way Magnolia, MS is about 45 miles north of Hammond and this is where my parents eloped and were married.)

After retiring from the Hammond Fire Dept. on September 15, 2001, I still wanted to be a part of the fire service. So I decided to start my own department . A friend of mine had this truck in a warehouse and sold it to me when he found out I was looking for a truck. It is a 500 GPM pump with a 250 gallon booster tank (which was totally rusted, so I removed it for more in order to allow for more people to ride).

I had a friend, who is a sandblaster, do some minor body work and paint the truck for me several years ago -- not show quality but for what I paid, it is great for fun quality.

Now, thanks in part to this site, I am putting some more time into fixing her up. I will redo the interior first. I'll change out tires to 19.5” and hopefully tackle the axles.

All of the equipment on the truck is period correct. I'm still looking for extension ladders (I have the roof ladder).

It is great fun for all of the parades and festivals we have in southeast Louisiana.Here in southeast Louisiana. We live to have festivals (five in our Parish alone, one only second in size to Mardi Gras in New Orleans -- and this town has only 10,000 people in it!). The pumper is always ready to roll and have fun.

On the Photobucket site, there are several pictures of of our fire trailer [ here's one of the pictures ] which I pull behind the truck so the whole "family" can ride. All of the real truck parts -- pump panel, handrails, etc. are off of a 1954 International and 1970 Chevrolet pumpers (which were also the first two pumpers that I drove in my career -- the 1970 replaced the 1954).

On Photobucket, there are also a couple of pictures of a 1941 Chevy fire truck that was given to the City of Hammond after WW 2 by the Army from the Air Field here in Hammond. I remember the truck when I first started in service, back at the airport. Where it went, I wish I knew.

Thanks again for this site. It has been a big help to me.

Dennis

It’s the little things that force us out of bed in the morning. Dennis’s little thing happens to be a one and a half ton fire truck. What a great addition to the Art Deco “Big Bolt” Collection. ~ John Lucas, Stovebolt Curator

-30-