This 1970 custom Oren pumper served three fire departments before being retired in May of 2009!
The Oren was originally purchased by The Chesterfield County (VA). Fire Department and served at The Manchester Volunteer
Fire Department, Company #2. The pumper was placed out of service and sold in 1988 to the E.I. DuPpont Company for use
at their Martinsville (VA) Plant. When the plant was shut down in 1998, DuPont donated the rig to The Henry Volunteer Fire
Department, located in Franklin County Virginia just outside of Martinsville.
In May of 2009, The Henry VFD placed it out of service, marking 39 years of continuous service! Discussions had already
been underway with the department about the historical value to Chesterfield County and our desire to return it home. The
Henry Department obliged and on May 23rd, the Oren was returned to Chesterfield. Remarkably, the only thing that had been
changed on the rig was the name on the cab doors. When sold to DuPont, the county had left the rig and its equipment intact.
Twenty-one years after being sold by Chesterfield, the pumper still looked almost like the original delivery photos.
The rig carries Oren Serial # 2746. Built on an Oren βGuardianβ chassis, with a 5-man cab, 172β wheelbase, 1,500-gpm
Waterous 2 stage pump, 500-gallon booster tank, Detroit 8V-71 engine and an Allison automatic transmission. With 350 HP and
a high ratio rear end, this rig goes over the road very nicely!
Serious mechanical repairs have been performed to make the rig truly roadworthy. It still has its original Chesterfield βDuPont
chrome yellowβ paint job which only required a touch up and buffing and then the gold leaf lettering was returned to the βas
deliveredβ configuration. Most of the gold leaf on the rig is still factory original with only minor touch up!
HISTORICAL FIRSTS
β’Β 1st 1,500-gpm pumper in Chesterfield County (VA).
β’ 1st automatic transmission in Chesterfield County (VA).
β’ 1st with a Stang monitor nozzle.
β’ 1st and only Detroit Diesel engine in Chesterfield County (VA).
β’ 1st with cross lay hose beds.
1st βChrome yellowβ painted apparatus, which became the Chesterfield County (VA) standard in 1970.
The Society for the Preservation and Appreciation of Antique Motor Fire Apparatus in America (SPAAMFAA) is an organization of people dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and operation of antique fire apparatus.
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