Fire Engine [Commer Pump Escape]
Maker and role
John Morris and Sons Limited, Manufacturer
Production date
1957
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Object detail
Accession number
1984.40
Production period
Description
Former Fire Service College/Te Kauwhata Fire Brigade 1957 Commer Pump Escape. Registration No. EV 8796. Lucas headlamps. Engine crank at front. Folding front doors. Fire hoses in sides (right and left). "Fire Service Council" in silver lettering on sides. John Morris and Sons Limited, Fire Engineers, Manchester. 50 foot wooden "Ajax" fire escape attached at back of fire engine. Red paint on body and hub caps. New Zealand Fire Service crest transferred on front doors (non-folding) on both sides of the engine.
Brief History
In 1947, the Ballantynes Building fire occured in Christchurch and the resultant Commission of Inquiry made wide recommendations regarding the Fire Service in this country. Included amongst these was the requirement that all initial attendances at fires in the metropolitan centres should include an appliance carrying a wheeled escape, that ladders of adequate length be carried on fire appliances, and that a training school be set up.
MOTAT has the escape carrying appliance that was imported to equip the new Fire Service College at Island Bay in Wellington. It was used for training with a wheeled escape and served at the College until 1972. It was then sold to Te Kauwhata Volunteer Fire Brigade and eventually went into reserve in 1982. It came to MOTAT in March 1984. Later models of Commer's became amongst the commonest of fire appliances used in New Zealand between 1957 until 1979. The 1957 Commer Pump Escape carries the name of the Fire Service Council.
MOTAT has the escape carrying appliance that was imported to equip the new Fire Service College at Island Bay in Wellington. It was used for training with a wheeled escape and served at the College until 1972. It was then sold to Te Kauwhata Volunteer Fire Brigade and eventually went into reserve in 1982. It came to MOTAT in March 1984. Later models of Commer's became amongst the commonest of fire appliances used in New Zealand between 1957 until 1979. The 1957 Commer Pump Escape carries the name of the Fire Service Council.
Marks
FIRE SERVICE / COUNCIL Logo
COMMER Maker's Plate
COMMER Maker's Plate
Media/Materials
Credit Line
John Morris and Sons Limited. 1957. Fire Engine [Commer Pump Escape], 1984.40. The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT).
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