WEFR's 1951 Ford Oren

Once again I am at a loss for a post. The only major incidents I have in the database for this day were 1923 and 1996; they were posted the last two years. Unfortunately I do not have the summer months completed or anything from the last few years. I hate to continue posting just WEFR apparatus but that is what I have completed at this time.

In October 1958 the company purchased a 1951 Ford Oren engine from the Delta Cardiff Volunteer Fire Company in York County, Pa. for $3,000. This would be the first rig the company purchased that modern and fairly new. The engine was equipped with a 250-gpm-power take off Hale pump and carried 800 gallons of water. The unit was painted red at the time of purchase and remained that way with just minor changes to the lettering. The rig had two booster reels with 200 feet of booster line on each, a 60-watt radio a generator for lighting and carried foam. The rig carried the radio designation 15-1. At an unknown date, believed to be August or September 1951the company sold the engine to the newly formed North Middleton Fire Company in Cumberland County, Pa. I never found documented proof but older members say the rig was sold to pay bills, it was replaced with an older open cab engine. Supposedly some members were angered over this move and quit the company. A few years later (exact date unknown) North Middleton rolled the engine over responding to an alarm and destroyed the unit. Years ago repeated attempts to get information on the unit from North Middleton by the late Jackson Gerhart and myself went unanswered. If anyone out there can help, even just the year of the accident I could pull the microfilm and fill in this information.