Welcome Home! Oldest Operating Steam Fire Engine in the United States Returns to Owego

[By Wendy Post]

OWEGO, N.Y. — On May 27, and on short notice, the Owego Fire Department’s 1866 Amoskeag Steam Fire Engine was paraded from the former Grand Union parking lot in Owego through the village to its destination at the Steamer Building, located along North Avenue. Following a five-year restoration, the 1866 Amoskeag Steam Fire Engine is the oldest in operation in the United States. 

Its return was celebrated by an escort of apparatus from units around the county, with sirens ringing as the antique engine made its way back home on a flatbed trailer. Known as the “Steamer,” or better referred to as the “Pride of OFD,” the engine’s return was greatly welcomed by those who gathered at the Steamer House with anticipation of its escorted arrival.

One of those waiting was Cheryl Kishpaugh, the daughter of Robert Kishpaugh, who had his hands on the apparatus during its earlier days in Owego. Cheryl chuckled when she recalled how her dad would somehow get the large wheels home to work on them.

“My dad is looking down today,” Cheryl said about her family’s roots with the department and their connection to the engine’s earlier years.

In her hands, outside the Steamer’s house on North Avenue—an architectural structure fashioned after that in Marathon, N.Y.—Cheryl held a photo of her dad, pictured with a gentleman named John Snyder and the steamer between them. 

Although she couldn’t remember the photo’s details, Jim Mead, owner of the Early Owego Antique Center, who was on hand and ready for the Steamer’s arrival, chimed in and noted that the photo was from the early 1970s and taken at the Tioga County Fair. It seems that Mead had set up some sort of display at the fair that year, and OFD’s Amoskeag Steam Fire Engine was part of it.

Also at the event, awaiting the Steamer’s return, was Donna Baker, who carried a photo of her dad, Bruce Baker, a former fire chief at the department.

In the photo, Baker was one of several pictured in a 1980s parade through downtown Owego; the engine was pulled by horses.

Both Donna and Cheryl agreed on Wednesday afternoon that “it is really exciting to have it back.”

And they weren’t the only ones ready, as hundreds gathered—community and fire department members—with very short notice to witness and celebrate the return of “The Pride of OFD.”

And as the sirens were heard in the near distance, guests neared the road, with fire police on hand to assist with traffic, as well as other department members. Escorted by well over a dozen trucks from various units, the steamer was second in line. 

Patrick Gavin, Central New York Firefighters Association president, Owego Hose Team President, and a key player in the engine’s restoration, steamer house, and eventual return to Owego, was the “keeper” of the apparatus, guiding it safely home. And as he carefully helped back the steamer up an incline to the entrance of the building, he had plenty of help, as OFD and Hose Team members were on hand, along with other community volunteers and guests.

Gavin, OFD members, and Jim Mead from EOAC addressed those who had gathered prior to the final push to put the steamer inside the building. 

As for its history, Gavin noted that the steamer was invented out of desperation in the early 1850s when volunteer firemen with hand-operated engines could not control fires. Steam fire engines soon revolutionized firefighting throughout the world. One steamer could exceed the firefighting capacity of several hand engines, requiring 150 firemen. 

The sixty years from 1853 to 1913 marked the heyday of steam fire engine manufacturing in the United States, with only a few built in 1914-1916 and the final one built in 1917. After 1917 cities and towns converted from steamers to motorized engines powered by gasoline. 

Gavin noted that Owego’s Steamer is extremely rare because it is shaped like a harp. 

He also explained that restoration work on the Steamer included a rebuilt boiler. Comprising 211 “fire tubes” the boiler functions much like the hot water heater in a home, producing steam to power the engine. 

The Steamer is classified as “Size 2” capable of pumping 700 gallons of water per minute (GPM). Modern-day fire engines typically can pump between 1,000 and 1,500 GPM. 

Brian Fanslau of Maine Locomotive and Machine Works built the new boiler. 

Now, the unit will be housed in the Steamer House on North Avenue for display purposes, along with the Owego Fire Department’s 1939 Sanford Hose Truck. 

The Steamer House, located next to Owego Fire Station #2 at the old Lloyd’s Barbershop site, was paid for with dollars raised entirely by the Hose Team members.  

Additionally, the overall cost of the Steamer project was approximately $500,000 and was privately funded through donations, fundraising efforts, and foundation support spearheaded by the Hose Team.

As for its future use, the Steamer will lead the 44th Annual Strawberry Festival Parade on June 20 in downtown Owego, and future plans call for working with area high schools to incorporate the Steamer and steam-powered technology into their Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, and Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) curricula.

“We are thrilled that the Steamer is now home and will be showcased in the beautiful Steamer House building in the heart of Owego on North Avenue,” said Hose Team volunteer Patrick Gavin. “This project has been a long time coming, and we know a lot of folks have been patiently waiting for its return.”