"The Wakefield Fire Department replaced its 1894 Abbot-Downing hose wagon with a 1906 American LaFrance combination chemical and hose wagon it purchased at a cost of $1,450. The horse-drawn wagon carried two 30-gallon chemical tanks and 1,900 feet of hose. During the eight years it was in service, the American LaFrance responded to several major fires, including the great Chelsea fire which destroyed nearly a quarter of the city in 1908, and the February 1909 fire that destroyed the First Parish Congregational Church. Other major fires included the 1907 fire at George Taylor's store at Main and Princess Streets, and the Cutler Brothers Grocery and Grain Store fire in 1911 at the corner of Main and Water Streets that destroyed several other businesses and buildings in the area. The Fire Department started adding motorized equipment in 1908 when it converted a second-hand touring car into a hose wagon, effectively ending its use of hand-drawn equipment. Additional motorized pieces of equipment were added, and by 1912, the American LaFrance combination chemical and hose wagon was reassigned to the Greenwood station. A Peerless chemical and hose wagon replaced the 1906 apparatus in 1914. The department's horses were no longer needed and were given to the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department and the Department of Public Works." Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 2012 Photo courtesy of JC Marketing Associates
