General Safety Equipment (in 1995 became part of Rosenbauer-America).Boardman, acquired by American LaFrance in 1998 (2002).American LaFrance (1971, again in 1995, and finally in 2014).3D, acquired by American LaFrance in 1999 (2004).

Some OEMs in the survey that are no longer around are listed below (date in parentheses is their date of demise). Grumman had acquired Howe, Oren, and Coast before their own demise. Besides just closing, some brands simply disappeared after buyouts such American LaFrance purchasing RD Murray and Becker. Others started after 1984 and since closed include American Eagle, American Fire Eagle, and Elite. One example is Ferrara which started manufacturing its own apparatus in 1988.

Familiar names today weren’t even in business back then. Some OEMs were not included in their survey. It listed 34 apparatus builders that responded to the survey and named 36 that did not. Regardless, in 1984, the FAMD published a survey with tabulated results for the various types and numbers of rigs sold in 1983. What Are These Alphabet Trade Associations?.It is a topic some who were around in that era say they can’t remember or do not want to discuss. It quietly disappeared sometime in the late 1980s under unknown circumstances. Another story related it was a ‘coordinating group’ briefly associated with the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers Association (FAMA). According to some old timers in the business, it was a competitor to The National Truck Equipment Association. One mentioned was the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers Division (FAMD), a short-lived group that supposedly was affiliated with the Truck Body & Equipment Association. Last month’s post discussed equipment manufacturers’ trade associations and, in particular, those pertaining to fire apparatus manufacturers (OEMs). Robinson built about a dozen aircraft crash trucks for airports in New England.” From the Cambridge (MA) Fire Department’s Website: “The Robinson Boiler Works, located on Second Street, made hose wagons during the late 1940s and early 1950s for the Boston and Cambridge Fire Departments as well as a few other fire trucks for other local departments. Robinson, hired to repair and modify some of Boston’s rigs, morphed, into building complete apparatus under its own name albeit for a short period of time. Photo, courtesy of Bill Noonan, is a 1953 hose wagon for the Boston (MA) Fire Department built on a commercial chassis by the Robinson Boiler Works of nearby Cambridge, Massachusetts.

3d fire apparatus