Island Resident Donates Antique Nantucket Fire Engine To Museum

Island resident Mary Longacre has donated Nantucket’s retired 1957 American LaFrance fire engine to the New England Museum of Firefighting in Adams, Mass.

The fire engine was used on Nantucket from 1957 to the mid-1980s, and was then sold by the town to the late Flint Ranney, the second fire engine he acquired from the town. Ms. Longacre purchased it from the Ranney family in 2015, had it restored it to running condition, and drove it in several Daffodil parades and at the Island Fair.

The New England Museum of Firefighting was established in 2021 by Mike Nugai, a retired Pittsfield, MA firefighter. The museum intends to add Nantucket’s 1957 fire engine to its working collection, which are maintained in operating condition and can make appearances at musters, parades, and other events.