So I found this fire engine in Northern California. I didn't recognize the cab. It has a badge on either side that reads Ward United (seen in the second photo). It was on private property and there was nobody around to ask permission to get deeper into the shelter it was parked in so this is all I have.
I've never heard of Ward United and can't find any reference to the company in any of my books or Google.
There are a lot of similarities with the U.S. Air Force P-12 structural rig built by Ward LaFrance in the late 70's. See Fire Apparatus Journal Vol 10, No 1 (Jan/Feb 1993) pg 12.
Quote:Looks like the logo used by Ward 79 Limited.
Wow, Ok so I must have really misread the badge. I know of Ward 79, but have never seen their badging before.
I did find a photo of a military Ward 79 that looks very much like this one in Walter McCall's Encyclopedia of American Fire Apparatus. There was an ex US Navy FTI pumper also on the property with a very boxy cab resembling the military Seagrave cabs, so this was likely another ex-military fire engine.
08-14-2017, 06:03 PM (This post was last modified: 08-15-2017, 11:25 AM by ScaleCentral.)
It bears a strong resemblance to a Ward LaFrance Patriot. It may be a very early prototype that was sold or a rebuild. The side windows are almost identical albeit that the whole side is flat compared to the bend the Patriot has.
Ward '79 Limited was created from the remains of Ward LaFrance. The unfulfilled contract with the Air Force for P-12D's was one of the straws that broke WLF's back. There were lots of leftover parts and this design was built for the Navy, using some of those parts, in the early 1980's. I'm not sure exactly how many were built, but I would estimate a few dozen.
08-30-2017, 09:27 PM (This post was last modified: 08-30-2017, 09:27 PM by Aaronw.)
Quote:That looks like the rig that used to be at Fort Ord Fire then sold to Marina Ca [ or Seaside or one of the other towns near by ].
How long ago?
I worked at Ft Ord in the late 90s. We had an Amertek 2500L, some FTI engines and a KME that share a very vague resemblance to this, but side by side are very different.
FTI in the foreground, 2500L hiding behind the brush trucks. I don't know that I have a photo of the KME.
Funny, I worked there as well for a bit in the mid 90's. I broke the tranny in one of those brush rig / water tenders driving it in the back of the base. No, that rig was there & gone long before I got there. I seen it in a warehouse off base and asked someone and they said it used to be Ords. Not sure of timeline though. Very familiar of all the rigs you are talking about above. I preferred working Ord over Navy Grad School any day of the week!
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