The Current Fleet

Lawrence Road Fire Company's current fleet of apparatus include: Telesquirt 22 (a 2003 KME 2,000 gallon-per-minute FireStix pumper equipped with a 75-foot ladder); Engine 22 (a 1998 KME 2,000 gallon-per-minute supply pumper); Rescue 22 (a 1996 KME heavy rescue/pumper equipped with a 1,500 gallon-per-minute pump and onboard cascade system); Car 22 (a 1999 Ford Expedition chief's car); Car 22-1 (a 2004 Ford Excursion deputy chief's vehicle); two boats (Marine 22 and Marine 22-1); and a fire safety trailer.

2003 KME FireStix Pumper

Telesquirt 22, which is Lawrence Road's first-due apparatus, is equipped with a 2,000-gallon-per-minute pump, a 500-gallon water tank, and a 75-foot ladder. Purchased by Lawrence Township at an approximate cost of $460,000, Telesquirt 22 was delivered to Station 22 on Novemeber 21, 2003. Initial training with the apparatus took place on December 10-11, 2003, and continued for the next several months, while hand tools, hose, and other equipment were mounted on the rig. At 9:30 a.m. on April 6, 2004, Engine 22-1 was permanently taken out of service and Telesquirt 22 went in service. Telesquirt 22 responded to its first run, an activated fire alarm at Lawrence High School, at 3:21 p.m. on April 7, 2004.

2004 Ford Excursion

This 2004 Ford Excursion, purchased in June 2004, serves as Lawrence Road Fire Company's deputy chief's vehicle. It is designated as Car 22-1.

2004 Fire Safety Trailer

This fire safety trailer, designed by Mobile Concepts by Scotty, arrived at Station 22 on October 8, 2004. The trailer, the inside of which is designed to look like a home with a model kitchen and bedrooms, allows firefighters to safely simulate a smoky environment to train school children what to do should they ever discover a fire in their home. A federal "Assistance to Firefighters" grant applied for by Lawrence Road Fire Co. member Gary Wasko, and awarded to the fire company in 2003, paid for 90 percent of the trailer. The remaining 10 percent of the trailer's $43,000 cost was paid with money raised by the fire company. The fire safety trailer debuted to the public on October 9, 2004, when Lawrence Road Fire Co. held an open house at the firehouse.

Marine 22, Marine 22-1

These boats were donated to Lawrence Road Fire Co. in 2004 by the Lawrence Township First Aid Squad. They are designated as Marine 22 and Marine 22-1.

1999 Ford Expedition

This 1999 Ford Expedition was purchased by the fire company for use by the fire chief as a command vehicle. It is known as Car 22.

1998 KME Engine

Engine 22 is a 1998 KME pumper that carries 500 gallons of water and can pump up to 2,000 gallons-per-minute. It cost Lawrence Township approximately $329,850. Engine 22 responds as a second-due supply engine in Lawrence Road’s district, but it is the first engine to respond on mutual aid calls to the township’s other two districts or to neighboring municipalities. Engine 22 is equipped with a rear reel capable of holding 1,000 feet of 5-inch hose. More large-diameter supply hose is carried in the top hose bed. Engine 22 responded to its first run (an activated fire alarm at the Chapin School on Princeton Pike) on October 12, 1998. A formal dedication ceremony and housing was held for Engine 22 at the Lawrence Road firehouse on October 17, 1998.

Rescue 22 is a 1996 KME rescue-pumper that cost Lawrence Township approximately $329,450. It carries 500 gallon of water and 30 gallons of foam and is equipped with a pump that is capable of flowing 1,500 gallons-per-minute. Rescue 22 carries a full assortment of Holmatro heavy rescue tools for use in extricating victims from wrecked vehicles at accident scenes. The apparatus is also fitted with an onboard cascade system made up of four 6,000-pound cylinders for use in refilling firefighters’ air bottles. It is also fitted with a 4,000-watt telescopic light tower for use in illuminating emergency scenes at night. Rescue 22 carries 1,000 feet of 1.75-inch hose in various preconnected lines, 200 feet of 2.5-inch hose, 450 feet of 3-inch hose and, 1,000 feet of 4-inch supply hose. Rescue 22 was delivered to the fire company in August 1996. Rescue 22 served as Lawrence Road's first-due pumper until Telesquirt 22 was placed in service in 2004. The apparatus responds on all rescue calls in Lawrence Township and is also utilized when Lawrence Road firefighters are dispatched to working structure fires for rapid intervention team duties or cascade services.

This pickup truck, known as Utility 22, was purchased by the fire company to replace Special Services 22. It typically responded to special assignments, such as flooded basements, and was also used to transport both manpower and equipment to and from the scenes of large fires. It carried several portable pumps, wet-vac vacuums, flares and speedie-dry absorbent material for use at accident scenes, portable fire extinguishers, a chain saw and other tools. Utility 22 was retired from service after it was badly damaged in an accident that occured on August 15, 2009, after one of its tires blew out without warning while traveling on Interstate 295. Fortunately, the two firefighters traveling in the truck at the time were not hurt.

This vehicle was originally purchased by Lawrence Road Fire Co. to serve as a command vehicle for then-Chief Patrick Quill. After the purchase of a new chief's vehicle (a Ford Expedition) in 1999, this became the fire company's deputy chief's car (Car 22-1). It was permanently removed from service and sold off in 2004 after the fire company purchased a new Ford Excursion to serve as a command vehicle.

In February 1992, Lawrence Road Fire Co. acquired an old ambulance from Lawrence First Aid Squad. The rig was refitted and repainted to become a multi-purpose/manpower unit known as Special Services 22. The apparatus carried basic handtools such as axes and halligan bars, portable pumps for pumping out flooded basements, and also extra air packs. In 1994, Lawrence Road Fire Co. purchased the first of its Holmatro heavy rescue extrication tools. For a while, before Rescue 22 arrived in 1996, those tools were carried on Special Service 22. Special Services 22 was retired from service after the GMC utility pickup truck was purchased in 1996.

This apparatus, which cost Lawrence Township approximately $238,000, was known as Engine 22-3. It replaced the 1964 Maxim. Equipped with a 500 gallon water tank, it was capable of pumping as much as 1,750 gallons per minute. Engine 22-3’s primary role was as a supply pumper, and therefore it carried 1,000 feet of 5-inch hose on a rear reel and another 1,000 feet of 4-inch hose in the top hose bed. It also carried hundreds of feet of 1.75-inch and 2.5-inch attack hose. Engine 22-3 was delivered to the fire company in January 1986. It was retired from service in 1998, when it was replaced by a new KME pumper (Engine 22).

Fitted with a 1,250 gallon-per-minute pump and a 500 gallon booster tank, this apparatus was designated as Engine 22-1. It replaced the 1969 Maxim pumper and became's Lawrence Road's first-due pumper. Engine 22-1 went on its first run on August 7, 1981, when it responded to a transformer fire on Bunker Hill Road. Two weeks later, on August 21, 1981, Engine 22-1 responded to the general alarm fire at the Saturn Chemical Co. plant on New York Avenue in Lawrence. The fire was so intense that it damaged some of the paint and gold-leaf lettering on the engine. Engine 22-1 was equipped with an onboard cascade system for refilling firefighters’ air bottles. After the arrival of Rescue 22 in 1996 and Engine 22 in 1998, Engine 22-1 went into reserve status, but was still used when needed. At about 12:30 a.m. on August 2, 2000, Engine 22-1 was returning from a structure fire when a motorist (who police later charged with drunk driving) struck the engine’s front bumper. Fortunately, neither the intoxicated motorist nor any of the five firefighters on the engine were seriously injured. The front of Engine 22-1 sustained significant damage but was later repaired. On April 6, 2004, Engine 22-1 was permanently retired from service with Lawrence Road Fire Co. The official radio announcement taking the apparatus out of service was made via Mercer County Fire 1 at 9:30 a.m. that day. In early 2005, Engine 22-1 was sold by Lawrence Township to Hillbilly Fire Apparatus of Blacksburg, Virginia, as part of a $71,000 package deal that also included two old Slackwood Fire Co. pumpers (Engine 21-1, a 1986 3-D, and Engine 21-3, a 1977 Sanford) and Lawrenceville Fire Co. Engine 24 (a 1984 E-1).

Engine 22-2, as it was named, was manufactured by Brumbaugh Body Co. (Bruco) of Altoona, Pa., and was equipped with a diesel engine, automatic transmission, and a 1,500 gallon-per-minute Hale pump. Costing $121,100, this was the first apparatus purchased for Lawrence Road Fire Co. by Lawrence Township municipal government. (All previous apparatus had been paid for with funds raised entirely by the fire company.) Equipped with an 800-gallon booster tank, it at one time carried 1,000 feet of 4-inch supply hose on a rear reel, as well as 2,800 feet of 3-inch hose, 200 feet of 2.5-inch hose and 400 feet of 1.75-inch hose. Engine 22-2 was retired from service on July 4, 1996, to make way for Rescue 22, and it was later sold to a fire apparatus dealer in Alabama (who reportedly refurbished it and sold it to a fire company in Tennessee).

This was the fourth and final Maxim pumper in Lawrence Road Fire Company’s history. A Model S2627C triple-combination pumper, it cost approximately $28,766. It replaced the 1951 Maxim pumper. During the 1970s, this apparatus was named Engine 22-1. During the infamous water crisis of September 1975, the apparatus pumped continuously for nearly a week as part of a water relay. It was finally retired from service and sold off in 1981 after the arrival of the Hahn pumper.

This Maxim Model S2627C triple-combination pumper, bearing serial number 2441, was equipped with a 750 gallon-per-minute pump. It cost approximately $22,947 and replaced the company’s 1949 Maxim pumper. Though delivered several weeks before, the apparatus was formally dedicated and housed during the fire company’s 50th anniversary celebration held on October 17, 1964. During the 1970s, this apparatus was known as Engine 22-2, but it was later renamed Engine 22-3 after the 1978 Bruco pumper was purchased. It was finally sold off in October 1985.

Manufactured on a Ford body by Bruco of Altoona, Pa., this apparatus served many uses over the years, including as a light truck and then as an air cascade unit. Its cost was around $10,000. During the 1970s, this apparatus was known as Truck 22-4. It was finally sold off sometime in late 1980 or early 1981.

This was Lawrence Volunteer Fire Association’s second Maxim pumper, a Model 1417, serial number 1772. It had a 750 gallon-per-minute pump and cost $13,200. It replaced the 1931 Sanford pumper. It was equipped with an 800-gallon booster tank and had two 1-inch booster hose reels.

In 1949, Lawrence Volunteer Fire Association purchased its first Maxim pumper, a Model 1417, serial number 1738, with a 750 gallon-per-minute Hale pump and a 201 horse power Hercules motor. Painted red, it cost approximately $14,000, with a $4,000 trade in on the company’s 1937 Diamond T pumper.

Sometime in 1937, Lawrence Volunteer Fire Association purchased a Diamond T pumper, it is believed from the General Fire truck Co. Unfortunately, no photographs exist and all records from that period are lost, so little is known about the apparatus.

Bearing identification number 518 R12, this Sanford triple-combination pumper was painted red and was powered by a six-cylinder, 90 brake horse power engine with a 160-inch wheelbase. It carried a 150-gallon booster tank, with booster hose reel, and its pump was capable of 500 gallons-per-minute at 120 psi. The apparatus also carried 1,000 feet of 2.5-inch hose, two ground ladders, and various handtools. It cost $6,000 and was delivered to the fire company on October 16, 1931.

1917 Jeffrey Motorized Chemical Engine

The one-and-a-half ton Jeffrey chassis was provided by the C.P. Weedon Motor Co. of Trenton, and the body was built by the Fitzgibbon and Crisp Co. of Trenton. Painted white and bearing the name "Lawrence Volunteer Fire Ass¹n" on its side, it cost approximately $2,800, and was delivered to the fire company on May 26, 1917. The apparatus carried two 40-gallon chemical tanks, ladders, hooks, axes, hand extinguishers, lanterns and other equipment and had the capability of transporting up to 18 men.

1914 Hand-Drawn Chemical Engine

Known as the Champion No. 10, this apparatus was built by the S.F. Haywood Co. and cost $375. It was equipped with a 45-gallon chemical tank. The apparatus was delivered to the fire company in August 1914