Boca Raton Fire Engine No. 1

Boca Raton Fire Engine No. 1, “Old Betsy,” is a 1925 American LaFrance Type 75 Triple Combination fire engine, built in Elmira, New York. The Boca Raton Town Council approved funds for a fire engine on October 21, 1925. On April 20, 1926, studies were interrupted at Boca Raton Elementary School while children rushed to watch as the gleaming red fire engine was unloaded from the Florida East Coast Railway.

That September, when the Great Miami Hurricane struck, Old Betsy responded to a hotel in Hollywood where it pumped flood water for over 100 hours. It was Boca Raton’s first and only firefighting apparatus for two decades. It continued to provide first or second responses until 1960. Its last big fire was the San Remo Condominium Villa Verona roof fire on October 16, 1967.

Old Betsy retired in 1968. Restoration of the fire engine to near original factory condition took place between 1991 and 1993. In 1994, the truck competed in two antique fire engine musters, finishing “Best of Show” and “Best Restored.” Listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 1, 2001, Old Betsy is housed at Boca Raton Fire Station 3.