North Charleston buying its own antique firetruck

What if you had a fire museum with no firetrucks to exhibit?

That's what North Charleston hopes to avoid by buying its own collection of antique firetrucks.

The city has purchased a 1956 American LaFrance fire engine from Napoleon, Ohio, for $7,000.

The city will spend another $2,500 to bring the truck to North Charleston in January.

Provided/Ray Anderson

This 1956 American LaFrance fire engine from Napoleon, Ohio, will be the newest addition to the firetruck collection at the North Charleston fire museum.

For now, the truck will not be on display at the museum with the other 18 trucks in the collection. It will be used to promote the museum in parades and at car shows, said Grant Mishoe, museum curator.

"It's a great piece and it's in excellent condition and it drives," Mishoe said.

The 51-year-old white truck with gold leafing still has all its original parts. The purchase gives the city another antique firetruck to add to the growing fleet. The city has a five-year lease agreement with American LaFrance. If the company decides not to keep the old vehicles at the museum, the city wants to make sure it has other firetrucks to place in the 26,500-square-foot building.

"This gives us one to start our own collection in case that happens," said North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey. The city does expect to renew the contract once it expires, he added.

Museum Director Renee Frye is excited about the addition. "We truly appreciate Mayor Summey and City Council's support of the museum," Frye said. "It's amazing that these trucks are out there."

The North Charleston and American LaFrance Fire Museum and Educational Center on Centre Pointe Drive, which opened in early 2007, houses American LaFrance firetrucks that represent more than a century of the Berkeley County-based company's fire engines. The museum also features displays including a "Great Escape" exhibit that shows how to exit a house in case of fire.

One elaborate exhibit shows a room of a home with fire hazards. And there are displays of extinguishers, smoke detectors and fire memorabilia from bygone eras.

For information, call 740-5550 or visit legacyofheroes.org.

Reach Jasiri Whipper at 745-5863.