Welcome!
~ Our 40th
Year ~
Although our roots go back as far as World War II and the Seattle
"Auxiliary" Fire
Department,
the Last Resort Fire Department
officially began in 1969 when a handful
of dedicated individuals
banded together to form what is now the largest collection
of
antique motorized fire apparatus
in the Pacific Northwest.
The "LRFD" is a non-profit,
charitable corporation, dedicated to the acquisition,
restoration,
preservation and display of classic antique motorized fire
apparatus. Our fundraising
activities
include fire prevention displays, birthdays,
weddings,
retirement parties, Santa Claus
arrivals, static displays, parades and other community events.
Boyd S. Thomaier
1916 ~ 1991
Captain, Seattle Auxiliary Fire Department
Co-Founder, Last Resort Fire Department
Our primary
mission has always been the preservation of Seattle Fire Department
history. Our collection is comprised of several unique fire
apparatus from the SFD. Included are Seattle's only
Ahrens-Fox, which was fully restored in the mid-1960's, and three of
Seattle's tillered aerials - their last wooden aerial -
a 1929 Mack, their first metal aerial - a 1937 Seagrave,
and their last "conventional-cab" tillered
aerial - a 1969 Kenworth/Maxim. We also have the SFD's last city-service ladder truck
- a 1950 Kenworth,
and what we believe to be the oldest surviving motorized fire
apparatus from the SFD - a 1913 Seagrave City Service Ladder. The SFD's only
Bulldog Mack is included in our collection, although it has yet to
be restored.
We work closely
with the Seattle Fire Department, providing apparatus for fire
prevention activities, fire station dedications and open houses, as
well as recruit graduation ceremonies. In addition, upon
request, we transport their horse-drawn and motorized steamers to
parades and displays. We strive to promote a professional
image in
keeping with fire service tradition.
Our shop/storage facility was built in 1973, and currently houses
twelve of our
rigs, including
pumpers, city service ladder trucks,
and tillered aerials. Because we've outgrown our facility,
there are several rigs in the collection that are stored in
various locations in the Seattle area. The collection consists
primarily of retired Seattle Fire Department apparatus and
equipment. We also maintain hundreds of historic photographs,
alarm equipment, station furnishings, nozzles, extinguishers,
helmets, and several items unique to the S.F.D. Our long-term
goal is to establish a fire service museum, where we can showcase the apparatus and
artifacts, so the public and firefighters and their families can
experience the history of the fire service in general, the Seattle Fire
Department in particular.
It's truly an impressive sight watching our active fleet of fifteen
antique and
vintage fire engines,
dating from 1913 to 1969, as they
proceed down the street,
all in a row, with our uniformed
members on
board. Each year, thousands of people of all ages thrill to the sight
and sound of these magnificent
machines.
That small group who started the LRFD so many years ago had a vision
-- that
those wonderful
old relics that helped save so many lives
and property for so
many years, should not all end up
being lost or
scrapped. They were aware, and
we know too, that too many
significant bits of
our past have been reduced to a
mere memory or
an old photograph. We at the LRFD are doing
everything possible
to
keep this nostalgic representation of our area's fire service heritage
alive
for our future generations to learn from, and enjoy.
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