Ryan Peake closes the hood on the Cape Charles Volunteer Fire Company’s 1924 fire truck, which will appear in the town’s July 4 parade.
For years, every parade in Cape Charles was led by the Cape Charles Volunteer Fire Company’s 1924 American LaFrance fire truck, which town firefighters bought brand-new a century ago.
It’s spartan and tiny compared to today’s colossal fire engines, which gleam with chrome and lights.
But the old truck’s motor’s water pump went bad a few years back. And it was hard to find a replacement.
“Every time we’d try to run it in the parade, it would run hot and boil over,” said Ryan Peake, the fire company’s treasurer.
The pump, however, has been replaced. Fire company officials plan on having the centenarian truck back in its usual spot — at the front of the line, right behind the color guard — in the town’s Independence Day parade on July 4 at 10 a.m.
“We’re crossing our fingers,” said Peake, with a nod to the balky nature of 100-year-old vehicles.
A Pennsylvania machinist who specializes in repairing old American LaFrance trucks created a new water pump.
Peake credited many in the fire company, including Chief Jay Bell, President Bill Powell, Deputy Chief Jeb Brady, and Assistant Chief Matt Pruitt, with their dedication to the old engine.
Even at its advanced age, company officials say it last worked a fire alarm in the 1980s, when it pumped water from the town harbor on a boat fire.
The engine still has its original wood ladders, wooden spoke wheels, and an oil-fired lantern on its side.
After the parade, the engine will be on display at Peach Street Books for the public. The fire company also will be accepting donations at the display.
Peake said the fire company hopes to buy a new fire truck — the town has given the company a $250,000 matching grant toward its purchase.
The fire company’s pumpers and tankers are more than 25 years old — in a growing community that has seen more than 300 homes built in the past five years.
Peake said a new fire truck could cost $800,000 — so the company has some fundraising ahead of it.
When the money is raised and a new fire engine is eventually purchased, it will share a home with the town’s first truck, which is working on its second century in town.
“It’s amazing it has stayed intact this long,” Peake said.
