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Photos: Vintage Tucson fire trucks get new life through restoration project
- Mamta Popat
- Updated
A crew of retired firefighters, including three TFD captains, two battalion chiefs and an arson investigator, come together every Tuesday to breathe new life into some of the city’s earliest fire engines. The group is known as the ALF/Fox Restoration Team, working under the umbrella of the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation.
Each man has a skill set they bring, but they all have a shared passion for Tucson Fire history and restoring vintage trucks. Their latest project is a 1930 American LaFrance ladder truck. They dismantle the engine truck and rebuild it, fabricating whatever is needed along the way. Each truck takes several years to complete.
ALF/Fox Restoration Team
Jeff Corey, a fire investigator with the Tucson Fire Department, has been working with the ALF/Fox Restoration Team since 2010. Here he tries to unscrew some bolts on a 1930 American La France city service ladder truck at the Southside Service Center. “It is kind of like working at the fire station again,” he said. “Whether it is sweeping floors or loading hose or crawling under fire trucks.”
Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily StarALF/Fox Restoration Team
John Roads, left, a retired fire chief from the Mount Lemmon Fire District and Brian Fitzgerald, retired captain from Tucson Fire Department, talk about the work they will do on a wooden ladder. Roads and Fitzgerald perform most of the woodworking needs.
Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily StarALF/Fox Restoration Team
Todd Vossler, retired battalion chief from the Tucson Fire Department, holds up a plastic sheet which is the template for a seat cover to sow. The ALF/Fox Restoration Team, working under the umbrella of the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation, has resurrected several Tucson fire trucks since taking shape in 2006.
Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily StarALF/Fox Restoration Team
Don Uthe, a retired captain from the Tucson Fire Department, uses his hand as a guide as he tries to unscrew a bolt on a 1930 American La France ladder truck.
Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily StarALF/Fox Restoration Team
John Roads paints linseed oil onto a wooden ladder. Roads said he looks forward to coming to work on the trucks each week. The group meets every Tuesday from 9 a.m. to noon year-round. “This is not a job,” he said. “It is a privilege to come down and work on these.”
Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily StarALF/Fox Restoration Team
Don Uthe uses a mixtue of acetone and transmission fluid to loosen up rusted bolts, nuts and handles on a 1930 American La France ladder truck. He says he lets the mixture sit for a long time after several applications before trying to loosen a handle or a bolt.
Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily StarALF/Fox Restoration Team
The latest project for the ALF/Fox Restoration Team, a 1930 American La France city service ladder truck, had been sitting in the front yard of Tim Warfield and Sally Rusk. The truck was on site of the 1934 fire at Hotel Congress where John Dillenger, the famous gangster, was a guest.
Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily StarALF/Fox Restoration Team
Jeff Corey works underneath the 1930 American La France ladder truck to unscrew bolts. The team will completely dismantle the truck and then fabricate many items since parts for a 1930's truck cannot be bought.
Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily StarALF/Fox Restoration Team
Todd Vossler writes in a notebook about the day's work on the 1930 American La France ladder truck on February 15, 2022. Detailed records are kept on the progress of the restoration since the work can take up to four years.
Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily StarALF/Fox Restoration Team
John Roads takes a closer look at a shaft as Steve Ellis, a retired battalion chief from the Tucson Fire Department, works on a project at the Southside Service Center. Everyone has a different skill set but a shared passion to Tucson fire history and the restoration of the trucks.
Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily StarALF/Fox Restoration Team
Brian Fitzgerald uses a sander on a wooden ladder.
Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily Star
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