Fire Department Adds Third Apparatus
The Cape Girardeau Fire Department added a 1916 Robinson fire apparatus to its fleet for improved capabilities. The truck was purchased on Feb. 26, 1925. The engine was bought from the General Manufacturing Co. of St. Louis and cost $5,400. The new truck was of the metropolitan type, known as the Graham Triple Combination Engine, built on a Graham chassis with a Dodge Brothers motor.
The equipment was mounted on a 1 1/2 ton chassis, and when completed weighs about 2 1/2 tons. The truck had a 158-inch wheelbase and could run up to 50 miles per hour. The rotary pump had an automatic relief valve and could pump 120 pounds of pressure at 300 gallons per minute. It also had an auxiliary cooling system and pneumatic tires. The truck had a 40-gallon chemical tank and 3 smaller chemical extinguishers, along with 12 and 20-foot ladders and could hold 1000 feet of hose.
This new truck was easier and cheaper to maintain due to the Dodge motor, and it was light and fast. It was to be the first apparatus out for fires. Jumbo the Robinson fire engine was to be used only for big fires.
The truck to the left is the new Graham Engine, the truck in the middle is the 1916 Robinson Engine and the truck on the right is the 1916 Robinson Ladder Truck.
Chief George French, and firefighters Niswonger and Tille are shown left to right.
Information provided courtesy of the Southeast Missourian
Picture circa 1925