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The 1924 American LaFrance fire engine will be kept in Birmingham Fire Station No. 2 facing Chesterfield St.

By: Mary Genson | Birmingham - Bloomfield Eagle | Published May 11, 2022

Bill Olsen’s father, Merritt Olsen, bought the 1924 American LaFrance fire engine for $435 in 1960.

The 1924 American LaFrance fire engine has a long history with the Olsen family and the city of Birmingham.

BIRMINGHAM — The City Commission accepted the donation of a 1924 American LaFrance fire engine from the family of Bill and Carol Olsen at an April 25 meeting.

Birmingham Fire Chief Paul Wells and Bill Olsen shared the rich history behind the truck’s connection to the Olsen family and the city of Birmingham.

The history On July 1, 1923, there was a fire in a two-story brick store in Birmingham. Surrounding fire departments were called in to help extinguish the blaze. One of the departments that came to help was from Pontiac, with a truck capable of pumping water from the Rouge River.

This incident led Birmingham fire officials to order a similar fire truck of their own. While the Birmingham Fire Department had fire trucks prior to the purchase of this truck in 1924, they were all chemical trucks, and they were not capable of pumping from a body of water.

For many years, the 1924 American LaFrance fire engine was one of the lead pieces of firefighting equipment in the city.

Olsen’s grandfather, William Olsen, was the chief of Birmingham’s volunteer department at the time.

When the city decided to auction off the truck in 1960, Olsen’s father, Merritt Olsen, decided to buy the truck for $435 because of his and his father’s connection with the Fire Department.

“We drove it home in November of 1960, and it’s been in the family ever since,” Olsen said.

Since he later was able to get all of the paperwork from the American LaFrance company concerning this truck, Merritt Olsen set out to restore the truck back to the factory original in the 1960s.

The first mission was to get the engine running correctly, which he was able to do with the help of a local mechanic.

One of the main aesthetic restorations they made was the exterior paint. Through the years, the truck had been repainted several times to make up for general wear and tear. But under all of that paint was a layer of gold leaf work.

They revitalized this gold leaf work by sanding down the truck to bare metal. The truck was painted back to the original color, and they were able to retrace a new layer of gold leaf. This restoration of the factory design of the gold leaf took years to finish.

In the mid 1990s, Bill and Carol Olsen tore down their two-car garage to make a suitable home for the truck after his father passed away and his mother planned to move.

The truck has been residing on their property ever since.

The traditions Throughout the course of their ownership of the fire truck, the Olsen family created decades worth of memories

In the 1970s, Greenfield Village started a club that gathered owners and collectors of antique fire equipment. However, this club got too big for the village to sustain. The club is still around, now called the Great Lakes International Antique Fire Apparatus Association, but they meet in Frankenmuth.

The Olsens used to be very active in the Greenfield Village club, but they have not been able to transport the fire truck all the way to Frankenmuth.

The Birmingham community is going to be able to see the truck at the Celebrate Birmingham Hometown Parade May 15.

Olsen said it has always been like a rite of passage for family members to help prepare the truck for the parade. This has been one of the core traditions revolving around the fire truck since they began driving it in the parade.

The gift When the time came that Bill and Carol Olsen felt like they wanted to pass on the fire truck, they consulted with their whole family and let them think about it. Eventually, they all came to the consensus that the best home for the truck would be back with the city of Birmingham.

“It was a family decision,” Olsen said.

The Olsens donated the fire truck with no strings attached. The only thing the family asked was that if the Fire Department ever decides to get rid of it, that it is first offered back to the Olsen family.

Olsen said donating the truck was bittersweet.

On one hand, he was relieved because he knows it is going to a good home and now he and his wife can plan their future without revolving it around the fire truck.

But the relief is paired with some sadness.

When his father bought the truck, Olsen was 4 years old, so he said it has always been a part of his life. Once he was in high school he started operating the truck as his father got older.

“I’ve been the caregiver for many years, keeping it running and fixing it up when something happens,” Olsen said.

Olsen said he hopes the community goes to visit the fire truck once it is back with the Fire Department.

The legacy Wells said they plan to keep the truck in Birmingham Fire Station No. 2, in front of the large window facing Chesterfield Street. With the lights on at night, people should be able to see it from the sidewalk.

The truck will continue to be shown at the Fire Department open house and during the Celebrate Birmingham Hometown Parade, as it has for many years.

Wells said the Olsens also donated a lot of spare parts for the truck to help the department maintain it.

“We’re going to store those at the fire station so we can keep this truck going for, hopefully, another 100 years,” Wells said.

At Birmingham Fire Station No. 2, Wells said their doors are always open and they are always willing to show local kids the truck when they stop by.

Olsen said they plan to move the truck to the station around early June.

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