Cape Cod Brush Breakers

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CAPE COD BRUSH BREAKERS

FIRE DEPARTMENT
Brush & Forest Fire Apparatus History
DUKES COUNTY

~ AQUINNAH ~
FIRE DEPARTMENT
1997 - Present
Previously
Gay Head Fire Department
1958 - 1997
Page Updated March 20, 2022

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Gay Head Fire Department 1958.
(Aquinnah FD collection)

PAGE CONTENTS

MAIN
M - MAP
1A - No.1 - 1958 (1939) Ford/Robinson 125/1000 6x6 Brush Breaker
1B - E1 - 1972 International 4x4/Farrar 500/500 Brush Breaker
1C - E322 - 1982 Chevy/EOne 750/400 Mini-Pumper
1D - T333 - 1997 (1978) GMC 5000 Gallon Tanker
1E - T333 - 2006 International/Greenwood/Bulldog 1250/2000 Tanker

MORE
2A - No.1 - 1958 (1939) Ford/Robinson 125/1000 6x6 Brush Breaker (more)
2B - E1 - 1972 International 4x4/Farrar 500/500 Brush Breaker (more)
2C - E322 - 1982 Chevy/EOne 750/400 Mini-Pumper (more)
2D - T333 - 1997 (1978) GMC 5000 Gallon Tanker (more)
1E - T333 - 2006 International/Greenwood/Bulldog 1250/2000 Tanker (more)

MAP

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GAY HEAD - AQUINNAH

1694 - Incorporated as part of Chilmark
1870 - Incorporated as Town of GAY HEAD
1997 - Renamed as Town of AQUINNAH
5.4 - Square Miles - AREA
439 - Population - (2020) CENSUS
81.3 - Density PER SQ MILE

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Gay Head - 1958 (1939) Ford/Robinson 125/1000 Brush Breaker

Gay Head - 1958 (1939) Ford/Robinson 125/1000 Brush Breaker

The Gay Head Fire Department got started in 1958 with this new station and apparatus. On the right in an old (1920's) Maxim Pumper. In the center is a 1940s Ford with some bars and a flat bed body.

The Brush Breaker on the left is the 1939 Ford COE / Marmon Harrington 6x6 / Robinson Boiler Works (Cambridge, MA) truck that was built for the Barnstable County Forest Fire Department. It was designated No.1. The 95 HP Ford motor, with the Marmon-Harrington 4 speed transmission and 2 speed transfer case. would do about 35-40 MPH over the road.

It had a 125 GPM PTO pump and a 4 cylinder water cooled pump. The water tank carried 1000 gallons.

Barnstable County No.1 was assigned to the Cotuit Fire Station from delivery in 1939 until replaced in 1942 by a similar looking No.2. The 1939 No.1 was then relocated to the Falmouth Fire Station 1 on Main Street until about 1953 when it was reassigned to the North Falmouth Station 3. It served in North Falmouth until May 10, 1957 when it was replaced by a new brush breaker. The 1939 truck then went to the West Barnstable Fire Station until it was replaced there by a new truck in Sept 1958.

Having served about 19 in Barnstable County, it was then given to the newly formed Gay Head Fire Department on Martha's Vineyard in 1958. It served actively in Gay Head until about 1972-73 when Gay Head took delivery of a new brush breaker. The old 1939 truck remained in Gay Head into the mid 1980's until it finally disappeared.

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Gay Head - E1 - 1972 International / Farrar 500/500 Brush Breaker

Gay Head - Engine 1 - 1972 International/Farrar 500/500 Brush Breaker
(G Peters collection)

One of the first new fire trucks in Gay Head was the 1972 International Engine 1 Brush Breaker. It was built by Farrar (Woodville, MA). The truck could pump about 500 gpm and carried 500 gallons of water.

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Gay Head - E322 - 1982 Chevy 750/400 Mini Pumper

Gay Head - Engine 322 - 1982 Chevy 750/400 Mini-Pumper

Gay Head operated this 1982 Chevy Mini-Pumper with a 750 gpm front mount pump and a 400 gallon tank. It had a ladder rack and carried a supply of hose and equipment. It was retired in 2011 and was transferred to the Cuttyhunk Fire Department across Vineyard Sound.

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Aquinnah - Tanker 333 - 1997 (1978) GMC 5000 gallon Tanker

Aquinnah - Tanker 333 - 1997 (1978) GMC 5000 Gallon Tanker

The Gay Head Fire Department became the Aquinnah Fire Department around 1997. One of the early additions was this 1978 GMC 5000 gallon Tanker. Delivered yellow, it was a former fuel truck acquired from surplus. It had a small transfer pump. It served Aquinnah until about 2006 when a new tanker was delivered.

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Aquinnah - Tanker 333 - 2006 International/Greenwood 1250/2000 Tanker

Tanker 333 - 2006 International / Greenwood /2014 Bulldog 1250/2000 Tanker
Sept 2018 photo

Aquinnah took delivery of a 2006 International/Greenwood 500/2000 Tanker in 2006. After several years it was sent out to Bulldog Fire Apparatus where a new 1250 gpm pump was installed to replace the original 500 gpm pump.

MORE PHOTOS

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Gay Head - 1958 (1939) Ford / Robinson 125/1000 Brush Breaker

It had a 125 GPM PTO pump and a 4 cylinder water cooled pump. The water tank carried 1000 gallons.

Barnstable County No.1 was assigned to the Cotuit Fire Station from delivery in 1939 until replaced in 1942 by a similar looking No.2. The 1939 No.1 was then relocated to the Falmouth Fire Station 1 on Main Street until about 1953 when it was reassigned to the North Falmouth Station 3. It served in North Falmouth until May 10, 1957 when it was replaced by a new brush breaker. The 1939 truck then went to the West Barnstable Fire Station until it was replaced there by a new truck in Sept 1958. Having served about 19 in Barnstable County, it was then given to the newly formed Gay Head Fire Department on Martha's Vineyard in 1958. It served actively in Gay Head until about 1972-73 when Gay Head took delivery of a new brush breaker. The old 1939 truck remained in Gay Head into the mid 1980's until it finally disappeared.