A 1958 Seagrave from Charlotte Fire's past still runs. Deputy Chief "Sparky" Richardson took it out on the road for a ride the department posted on Oct. 24.
The department calls it the "Long Nose." The Charlotte Fire Museum lists it as a canopy-cab Seagrave, also known as the "Bullet Nose." City Council approved two 1,000 gallon-per-minute (gpm) Seagrave "70th Anniversary Series" engines on Aug. 27, 1958, at $49,776 for the pair.
This one went in service as Engine 11 when Station 11 on West 28th Street opened on June 16, 1959. After a Ford C-8000 replaced it, the Seagrave stayed at Station 11 as Engine 23, moved to Station 23 on East W.T. Harris Boulevard in 1978, and then went to the Training Academy for recruit classes and promotional testing.
Its last real call came in March 1997, when Charlotte's reserve fleet ran dry. Crews pulled the engine out of warehouse storage at the Fire Prevention Bureau and ran it for one 24-hour shift as Engine 01. It caught a fire at Barnhardt Manufacturing and relay-pumped to the first-due engine. The department's post calls it "an unexpected return to duty in 1997, nearly 40 years after its first call."
Today the engine is still operational and, according to the museum, "a parade favorite."
