Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
JUMBO
JUMBO. Dubuque's first motor-driven fire engine, nicknamed "Jumbo," arrived in Dubuque on December 16, 1912. It was the dream of Dubuque Fire Chief Joseph Reinfried who wanted to see the department completely motorized. Costing $9,000, the fire engine was powered by a marine engine larger than any automobile or truck engine of its day. Because it was designed to have water running past its cylinders, the engine often overheated after moving up a hill and had to be allowed to cool off. The largest radiator that could be found was too small to cool it.
For ten years, Jumbo worked on some of the largest fires in the history of Dubuque. It served in battling the two fires at the JULIEN HOTEL in 1912 and 1913, WALES HOTEL fire of 1917, St. Vincent's fire of 1918, and the Grim Drug Store fire of 1919.
Jumbo was sold between April 1, 1921 and April 1, 1922 to a community in Wisconsin which parked it next to a stream and used it as an auxiliary pumping system for the city's water supply.
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Source:
Shellum, Bernie. "Jumbo--Dubuque's First Fire Engine," Telegraph Herald, December 16, 1962, p. 21