The Ward LaFrance Truck Corporation was an American manufacturer of
truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...
s and
fire apparatus
A firefighting apparatus describes any vehicle that has been customized for use during firefighting operations. These vehicles are highly customized depending on their needs and the duty they will be performing. These duties can include firefighti ...
founded by Addison Ward LaFrance in 1916 in
Elmira Heights, NY
Elmira Heights is a village in Chemung County, New York, United States. The population was 4,097 at the 2010 census. The village is primarily within the town of Horseheads, but part of the village is in the town of Elmira. The village is a nort ...
. The company ceased operations in 1979.
LaFrance was a relative of Truckson LaFrance, the founder of the similarly named fire apparatus manufacturer
American LaFrance
American LaFrance (ALF) was an American vehicle manufacturer which focused primarily on the production of fire engines, fire aerials, and emergency apparatus such as ambulance and rescue vehicles. Originally located in Elmira, New York, the fi ...
.
and had worked at the legendary apparatus builder before beginning to build his own trucks and apparatus.
Ward LaFrance built tank wreckers for the
US military
The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six Military branch, service branches: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States N ...
, vans for
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service (UPS, stylized as ups) is an American multinational shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company specializing in telegraphs, UPS has grown t ...
, over the road tractors, cement trucks, dump trucks, chassis for
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
es and
trolleys, and
armored cars.
Perhaps the best known Ward LaFrance product was the P-80 "Ambassador" model of pumper, one of which was donated as
product placement by the company to be used as the fictional
Los Angeles County Fire Department
The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) provides firefighting services as well as technical rescue services, hazardous materials response services and emergency medical response services for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County ...
Engine 51
Engine 51 is known for its time in the 1970s TV show ''Emergency!''. Engine 51 is actually two very different fire engines. Both Engines 51 sit in the Los Angeles County Fire Museum right next to the famous Squad 51. The museum is building a new fa ...
on the 1970s television program ''
Emergency!
''Emergency!'' is an American action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing the two short-lived situa ...
''.
[
] In 1976 the ailing company was purchased by a group of private investors but closed for good in 1979.
See also
*
G-numbers
This is the Group G series List of the United States military vehicles by (Ordnance) supply catalog designation, — ''one'' of the alpha-numeric "Standard Nomenclature Lists" (SNL) that were part of the overall List of the United States Army w ...
(G116)
References
External links
wardlafrance.com (Official)
Emergency services equipment makers
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