Engine 51's Donors We Thank You
Restoration · Donations
See our Donations Page... Become a part of history!
On August 8, 2008, Ward LaFrance "Engine 51" from the television show EMERGENCY! 
was reunited with "Squad 51" at the LA County Fire Museum after being retired from nearly thirty years of service in Yosemite National Park. The engine had been well taken care of, but was retrofitted and restored to return it to its original specifications and appearance. Following a front-page article in the Wall Street Journal in June 2010, donations toward the restoration project began arriving. Even though much of the work was done by Museum volunteers, nearly $35,000 is still needed to fund the work. Please consider making a tax deductible contribution to the County of Los Angeles Fire Museum Association, and state that you would like your donation earmarked for the restoration of "Engine 51." We are not done yet, there is a long way to go, and we need to restore the funds that were utilized on this project.
Museum Honorary Chairman Randolph Mantooth is a popular Keynote Speaker at Fire and EMS Conferences and special events across the country, delivering an average of twenty presentations each year on the history of EMS in America. Since 2003, he and past board member Nancy McFarland have teamed up to host fundraising autograph sessions on behalf of the museum following his speeches, and have successfully raised over $40,000 for the building fund and other special projects. Recently they have promoted the Engine 51 project and have dedicated a portion of the proceeds from the autograph sessions to the Ward LaFrance restoration fund.
© 2010 County of Los Angeles Fire MuseumPhoto embeded with Digimarc tracking code, do not replicate.
Randy, Nancy and the board of directors would like to thank the following organizations and conference attendees for their support and generosity at the autograph table, and acknowledge their contribution to the restoration of the Ward LaFrance Engine 51:
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North Carolina State Firemen's Association and South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo in Raleigh, North Carolina - $2,500.00 |
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Southern Maine EMS Conference in Portland, Maine - $500.00 |
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Oregon Research and Education Foundation and the Oregon EMS Conference - $2,000.00 |
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Metropolitan Boston EMS Council 10th Annual Awards Banquet - $1,000.00 |
THANK YOU DOCTOR EUGENE NAGEL
Our first major donation toward the restoration of Engine 51 was received from:
Doctor Eugene Nagel, M.D. - Miami Florida.
"Dr. Eugene Nagel is a pioneer in the field of Emergency Medical Services. He was Medical Director for the City of Miami Fire Department's rescue operation from 1964 until he left Miami in 1974. During those 10 years, he developed the first paramedic program utilizing telemetry and voice medical control rather than the then practice of riding either a physician or nurse with the paramedics."
In this photo, Dr. Nagel is autographing the Museum's paramedic backboard on May 7th, 2010. All Los Angeles County Fire Department Paramedic are invited to autograph the backboard. Read more about our backboard in the Artifacts section.
The biography on Dr. Nagel has been borrowed from our Pioneers of Parmedicine Website. Read about other pioneers in the field on this Website.
Thank you PRO EMS - Cambridge, Massachusetts
Thank you to Bill Mergendahl, CEO, and Larry Stone, President, of Professional Ambulance(PRO EMS) of Cambridge, MA for their generous donation of $2,500.00. The check was presented to Randolph Mantooth and Nancy McFarland during their recent visit to Cambridge, MA, which was hosted by PRO EMS, the Metropolitan Boston EMS Council, and the Cambridge Fire Department.
Get your name here! We will recognize you, a special dedication, or your company right here with your denotation to the restoration of Engine 51.
Visit our Donate Page for more information
| DONORS TO ENGINE 51 RESTORATION | ||
| Date | Name | Amount |
| Your Name Could Be HERE | ||
| 4/30/2012 | Chris Hart | $20.00 |
| 3/26/2012 | Lyle Burkhart | $100.00 |
| 2/11/2112 | Ming-Yi Hsueh | $100.00 |
| 12/06/2011 | Brady Fox | $100.00 |
| 12/02/2011 | Christopher L. Belby | $25.00 |
| 11/25/2011 | Cathy & Tim Kolessar | $100.00 |
| 11/19/2011 | Christopher L. Beilby | $8.32 |
| 5/27/2011 | Paul Floyd | $25.00 |
| 5/14/2011 | International Association of Fire Chiefs | $1000 |
| 5/14/2011 | Pamela Kendricks | $100 |
| 5/11/2011 | Blake Oxford | $25 |
| 5/06/2011 | Thomas Sullivan | $100 |
| 4/28/2011 | Doug Burrell | $100 |
| 4/27/2011 | Pamela Kendricks | $100 |
| 4/16/2011 | Howard Dolan | $12.51 |
| 4/05/2011 | Michael Bragg | $50.00 |
| 4/02/2011 | Ryan Gardner | $30.00 |
| 4/01/2011 | Robert Gaffney | $100.00 |
| 4/01/2011 | Jennifer Ducker | $20.00 |
| 4/01/2011 | Richard Yokley, Author, EMERGENCY! Behind the Scene | $1000.00 |
| 4/01/2011 | Cindy Kimura | $20.00 |
| 3/30/2011 | Pamela Kendricks | $30.00 |
| 3/30/2011 | Eric Bisson | $50.00 |
| 3/29/2011 | R. Gregory Showalter | $50.00 |
| 3/23/2011 | Christian Henning | $100.00 |
| 3/18/2011 | Elena Daniel | $20.00 |
| 1/15/11 | Anne Davenport | $110.00 |
| 12/29/10 | Jeff Brown | $51.00 |
| 12/20/10 | Liam Caraher | $100.00 |
| 11/21/2011 | Josh Drouard | $30.00 |
| 11/11/10 | Mitchell Takemoto | $100.00 |
| 11/11/10 | Marisol Espiranza (also $25.50 Squad 51 Maintenance) | $25.50 |
| 10/10/10 | Steve Sulligen | $1000.00 |
| 10/10/10 | Renae Carpenter a Big Red Angel | $250.00 |
| 10/15/2010 | Chad Christensen | $50.00 |
| 6-9/2010 | NCSFA, SM EMS Conference, OR & EF, OR EMS Conference (see more info above) |
$5000.00 |
| 9/2010 | Carol Fowlie a Big Red Angel | $500.00 |
| 9/2010 | Raymond (Last Name held by request) | $500.00 |
| 9/25/2010 | Patti Keiper | $125.00 |
| 9/17/2010 | William Claessens | $100.00 |
| 9/11/2010 | Dennis Cameron | $100.00 |
| 9/2010 | James & Erika Saltzburg | $100.00 |
| 9/2010 | James & Erika Saltzbur also for maintenance of Squad 51 | $25.00 |
| 9/2010 | Eric Kubesh | $100.00 |
| Total to Date: | $16,013.76 | |
| GOAL | $50,000.00 | |
