Early Alarm

The article on Hudson, New York, in the April/May 2004 issue touched on the town’s American Museum of Fire Fighting. Its exhibits include the first fire engine ever to see service in New York City.

Imported from England, the engine featured “brakes” and a pumping system that supplied water pressure with the strength of stout arms and backs. But the engine lacked a steering mechanism; the firefighters who pulled it had to lift the machine bodily when negotiating a turn.