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When Ford changed the automotive world with the introduction of the mass-produced Model T in 1908, it wasn’t much of a stretch to find the “T” in service as a fire truck. In spite of the fact it was a tad light-duty to be used for such service (unlike the Model TT trucks that came later), the vehicle was simple, easy to repair, and inexpensive to purchase in the first place. Chapel Hill, NC purchased one for the princely sum of $600. The town kicked in $200, and the University another $200. The volunteer firemen came up with the final $200—by competing at firemen’s conventions. As far as I’m concerned, the local merchants should have kicked in the last $200. After all, they would be the direct recipients of the fire truck’s service. Is that too much to ask? Though Chapel Hill’s truck was a ladder truck, the City of San Jose’s, from which this image was derived, was a pumper. It had two large tanks in the rear, with a hose that worked off both of them. Since there was no connection to the motor, and there’s no manual pump evident, it’s likely that the pressure to deploy the water came from a mix of chemicals—say soda/acid. Hey, it beat throwing buckets of water at the fire! With its gleaming brass parts, shiny red paint, and plush leather seat, the volunteer firemen of San Jose were no doubt proud of their new truck. Heck, they had worked hard enough to earn the $200 for it. That kind of cash was nothing to sneeze at in 1914.
Yat Ming has done its usual fine job on this 1:18-scale pumper. I suspect they chose this scale because the T was essentially a car, and would look somewhat small next to the other larger fire engines in its model inventory. That said, I still would have preferred Yat Ming doing it in 1:24 scale, so it would be consistent when displayed with the other four. Otherwise, there’s little to pick at when you look at all the sparkling, simulated, brass-finished parts, fine detail, and gorgeous pin-striping on the flawlessly applied, rich, red paint. There are two valve wheel handles that rotate, a metal bell w/clapper, a real wood ladder, and a cloth hose that unreels. And, the seat gives when you press it like it has tiny inner springs. Yat Ming also provides a gold-plated, commemorative coin, a model examination tool, and a C of A. I've been consistently impressed with the high degree of quality that Yat Ming packs into their fire truck images. As far as I’m concerned, they’re champs in the “most-bang-for-the-buck” category.
Though bigger and better fire engines would be produced over the decades, back when this T existed next to horse-drawn fire wagons, it must have seemed like the epitome of high-tech, state-of-the-art fire fighting equipment.
(10/15/2005)
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