Five Points Fire Museum at Lafayette

04/11/2026

John William Mitchell died on April 10th, 1914, at the Dryfus Theater Fire. Mitchell was working on the Alpha side of the building when a piece of the cornice fell off of the building while he was trying to secure a hoseline, trapping him underneath. He later passed at the hospital, becoming Lafayette Fire Departments first Line of Duty Death.
Yesterday we cleaned the gravestone and vow to never forget.
We continue to honor and remember every area LODD! RFB

03/07/2026

Spring at the Museum. This Friday was a beautiful day. The 1936 Ahrens-Fox VC #9022 was on the drive to gather some sunshine. The 1915 Ahrens-Fox K-2 #608 is standing by in the station ready for a call. 72 degrees and Sunny. We just had to open things up. Is Spring here finally?

02/04/2026

We are one more step toward returning this grand old lady to her original condition. In about 1925, she was very badly damaged in a wreck. When the restoration was being done, a booster tank and reel were added. At some point since her retirement, the booster tank and mounting hardware were lost.

To get her back to the delivery configuration, we decided to remove the booster reel so that she can again be a true K-2. This also gives us a chance to rebuild the rear step. The rear step was damaged when she was at another museum. Someone used a forklift to move the truck. That was a bad idea. It took many hours to straighten the body. The rear step will be rebuilt, and new linoleum will be applied to all surfaces.

That reel is heavier than it looks. Scott and I were able to get everything disconnected. Our good friends from the new station 3 came to the rescue and lifted it out of the truck. Thanks go out to our friends from the LFD. We can always count on them.

01/30/2026

The work is almost done on our 1915 K-2 Ahrens-Fox. Some minor stripe work needs to be done on the left side of the truck. The pump is being decorated and striped. The sign painter has completed the lettering and the number "3" on the front. This gentleman is the one who cut the scrollwork corners from a flat sheet of material. He is an artist. Further work will be needed to remove some later alterations to return the truck to her condition on delivery. Some things were added and those will be taken away. The last thing to be done is to replace the covering on the side and rear steps as well as the floorboards. When done, it will again be a K-2 Ahrens-Fox.

We were fortunate to have John Gambs on our board. He has a 1916 K model in original condition. We took a lot of photos and a lot of measurements. John has helped us a lot with this project.

01/19/2026

Happy 320th Birthday to Benjamin Franklin 🎉
Founder of America’s first fire company in 1736 and a legacy that still protects communities today.

01/18/2026

12/28/2025

Work continues on the 1915 Ahrens-Fox K-2. Volunteers Scott Balser and his sister Shelly along with Ben Miller have made a bit of progress painting details and striping. Our resident expert, John Gambs, paid us a visit and shared some suggestions. A little black paint and some gold striping make a world of difference. A sign painter will be visiting to letter the hood.

12/10/2025

When things slow down for us in December, we start some new projects. Our engineer, Scott Balser, is finishing a restoration that begun about 50 years ago and several owners back. The 1915 Ahrens-Fox K2 was painted but none of the striping or the painting of the accents completed. Ahrens-Fox would apply black paint to those areas that would be exposed to the contact damage that happens when the trucks are used for their intended purpose. The gold stripping will be applied, and she will be beautiful again.

11/28/2025