PHOTOS: It has raced to fires, rolled through parades, is part of a museum and still works.
One hundred years after “Old Engine One” first rolled into Caribou, the 1922 American LaFrance pumper is still the pride and joy of the city’s fire and EMS department.
In a time when old vehicles end up in metal compactors, the city of Caribou sees the treasure in its first fire truck and works hard to preserve it.
“It’s like a [time] capsule; it’s been part of this town for years,” said firefighter Adam Chartier. “My grandfather [Gus McCarthy] rode on that truck in the 1940s.” Though Caribou has gone through numerous engine trucks since Old Engine One retired in 1956, the truck has connected firefighters of multiple generations. Old Engine One has brought firefighters on their “last rides” after their deaths and is part of local family histories.