2001, the year of 9/11 and thus probably the darkest day in the history of America, the city of New York and the New York Fire Department, the F.D.N.Y.
The collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center destroyed a number of F.D.N.Y. vehicles. Since the house brand Seagrave could not deliver replacement vehicles to the New York firefighters that quickly, American LaFrance stepped in and quickly built a vehicle in the typical F.D.N.Y. livery as Engine 34, based on an Eagle chassis.
In 2004 a 1/64 scale model of this one-off F.D.N.Y. pumper was even released by Code 3 as a limited edition. That same year my daughter came to NYC and worked there for two years as an au pair for a wealthy family in Manhattan. She had time, lots of time. So, at my request, she contacted the New York Fire Department headquarters to find out where Engine 34 was stationed. Three years after 9/11 the New Yorkers had updated their fleet again, and ALF's Engine 34 was relocated to Governors Island, not far from Liberty Island. My daughter got permission to visit the island and take pictures of Engine 34 there. Here I show you some photos of this unique F.D.N.Y. vehicle. And one day I will build exactly this one-off as a 1/25 scale model.
Trumpeter's Eagle kit is ideal for building this one-off. If you are interested and would like to dare such a conversion, I can send you this drawing as a PDF file. Any copy shop will print it at the scale you want.
More original photos of this vehicle can be found in the archive under 1. Engine 34 at F.D.N.Y.