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Open house opens door to NUFD history

Staff photo by Fritz Busch Irene and Isaac Achman of New Ulm learn some of the finer points of a 1930 American LaFrance fire truck at an open house at the new New Ulm Police and Fire Department Storage Building, 427 22nd Street North Saturday. Retired New Ulm firefighter Jim Flatau describes the antique fire truck that has been used in local parades. Built with the help from a donation, part of the building is used to store antique fire equipment. The rest of the building is used to store police department equipment, vehicles and large, confiscated evidentiary equipment.

NEW ULM — An open house at the new New Ulm Police (NUPD) and Fire Department (NUFD) storage building Saturday opened the door to history for visitors.

The building located at 427 22nd St. N., houses a number of fire department antiques, including an 1870 horse-drawn hand pumper. That was one of the first pieces of equipment purchased by the fire department a century and a half ago.

The hand pumper served the fire department for nearly 20 years. Firefighters nicknamed it the “man-killer” because it took half a dozen men to operate it. Firefighters were said to be exhausted after using it for 15 minutes and needed to be replaced.

In 1919, the fire department got it’s first motorized pumper, a 1919 American La France. The truck could pump 350 gallons per minute. The truck was sold when a new truck was purchased and later became part of a museum near Rushford.

About 30 years ago, the museum owner was forced to sell the truck and the NUFD was notified their old truck was going up for auction. A group of local firefighters including former Fire Chief Jerry Plagge bought the truck that still said New Ulm on it. They paid $6,850 for it after getting into bidding competition with an Arizona group. The Arizona group backed own after the crowd booed them.

The fire department’s next pumper upgrade was a 1930 American La France that could pump 750 gallons a minute. That truck was later sold to a local implement dealer that donated it back to the NUFD.

The NUFD vehicle most frequently seen in parades, often transporting Miss New Ulm and hauling caskets in funerals for firefighters, is the 1958 Pirsch fire truck.

All of the vehicles are maintained by members and former members of the NUFD. The new storage facility gives the fire department not only more space to display the antiques but also affords volunteers more room to restore and maintain them.

Other space in the new storage building is used to store police department equipment including vehicles and large, confiscated evidentiary equipment.

fbusch@nujournal.com

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