1973 American LaFrance Pioneer Pumper Fire Truck at Pothier Elementary School 2026

June 4, 2026

By Nicole LeBoeuf

 

 

On June 4, 2026, we had the honor of driving this 1973 American LaFrance Pioneer Pumper Fire Truck to Pothier-Citizens‘ Elementary School in Woonsocket, Rhode Island to teach their students about vintage fire apparatus. They were very curious about the yellow, slow-moving powerhouse, its many accessories, and American LaFrance - one of the oldest American automobile manu­facturers focused on emergency and fire. This truck spent 2,050 hours in service and now has a new 6V53 remanufactured Detroit Diesel engine. We left out that this fire truck was specially set up to carry caskets for funerals, and luckily, we had no questions about the Firefighters Funeral Apparatus Service labeling.