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S.C. firefighters work to restore 94-year-old pumper

The pumper was chosen in 1991 to be used in the film “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken”

The T and D

ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — She sits quietly inside a bay, sharing living quarters with her much younger sisters. With brass fittings and vintage pressure gauges, her age is obvious at first glance but she still gives off an air of unspoken dignity.

There’s no need to announce her honors, she doesn’t need anyone to argue she has done her duty. She’s the city’s first-ever mechanized and motorized fire pumper — Number 1.

The city of Orangeburg took possession of the pumper in August 1920 after placing the $12,000 order a few months earlier. With the ability to toss out 1,000 gallons of water a minute, the pumper was the creme-de-la-creme of fire-fighting apparatus.

Full story: VINTAGE ORANGEBURG COUNTY: City’s first motorized fire pumper waits to serve again

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