Old Fire Truck Has Charming Effect(posted Oct 16) The land harpoon was a $5 million prototype that met an early grave, never to be adopted into the arsenal of fire equipment apparatus. Instead, fire truck antique buff Thomas Beard scooped the 1984 Ford truck mounted with the land harpoon off E-bay for undisclosed sum. "Fire trucks hold a fascination for those who like trucks with lights, sirens and pump water," Beard said while showcasing his truck at the Pike Township Safety Festival. Beard said the land harpoon was patented by Walter Herman in 1995, but the air powered cannon designed to catapult hoses into fires or safely lines up to 500 feet was never accepted by the fire industry. He said two prototypes were made. One was mounted on a trailer and sent to Bosnia for testing, and the other was built on a truck used by the Navy at the Abingdon Virginia Fire Department. Eventually the 1984 truck landed in a museum in Michigan until it was sold to private individual who placed it for sale on E-Bay. Beard thinks the land harpoon would have been better marketed as a device to help stranded victims caught in ferocious water or weather conditions that would prevent helicopter or boat rescue. Beard explained the Pompous Pumper Playpipe Society of Indiana is the local chapter of the Society for the Preservation & Appreciation of Antique Motor Fire Apparatus in America. Beard belongs to SPAAMFAA. The Pompous Pumper Playpipe Society of Indiana meets at the Wayne Township Fire Headquarters on the first Sunday of the month at 2 pm. |
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