City's First Fire Engine

A 1925 American LaFrance fire engine with a polished wooden bed and steering wheel, rare Italian tires, and a black leather seat was delivered to the City of Auburndale by freight train on June 23, 1925, and remained in service until 1953. In the 1930s, volunteer firefighter Nephi Darby nicknamed the truck Grandma while working hard to keep it running and clean. It was restored in 1979 and placed on display in the Public Library on West Park Street, then restored again after an arson fire in the library in 1982. In 1992, it was moved beside the Fire Station on Orange Street, and in 2001, when the Fire Department moved to this location, the historic engine was moved into this building, which was named in honor of Chief James A. Hancock, Jr. Hancock worked for the City of Auburndale from 1951 to 1991 and served as chief from February 20, 1956, until his retirement. In 1981, the Florida Fire Chiefs' Association named him Outstanding Fire Chief, and his public service tenure remains one of the longest in the city's history.

Auburndale, Florida · United States