Bossie O'Brien (fire engine)
The Bossie O'Brien, constructed in 1886, was the first steam engine to be purchased for the newly-formed Birmingham Fire Department.
The engine was manufactured by C. Ahrens & Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, as their No. 459 4th Class Double Crane Neck Upright Steamer.
The original specifications for the steamer called out for two 6" bore steam cylinders with two 3 1/4" bore pump pistons. The round coil boiler was 30" in diameter and 60" high with heater tubes on the left rear. The carriage was mounted on Archibald wood wheels, 54" diameter with 16 spokes on front and 60" diameter with 18 spokes at rear, with patent platform springs. The engine was supplied with 20 feet of 3 1/2" hard suction connected to the pump. The hoses and nozzles were threaded to match a sample furnished by the department. The boiler was encased in German Silver with brass bands. A decorative ornament was placed atop the air chamber.
Christopher Ahrens accompanied the shipment which left for Birmingham on February 16. The engine made its public debut during the 1886 Mardi Gras parade on March 8. It was drawn by two gray horses, driven by W. M. Carney, with Engineer Raplee manning the rear. The department later named it for Bossie O'Brien, the 9-year-old daughter of Pioneer Fire Company No. 1 captain and future Mayor Frank O'Brien.
Birmingham sent the engine for service in June 1887, which included replacing the boiler coils. The coils were replaced again in October 1895 with a heavier gauge of tubing. In 1905 the engine was rebuilt with a new Fox boiler, and the nameplate was stamped by the company, then known as the American-LaFrance Fire Engine Co.
In 1912 Birmingham sold the Bossie O'Brien to the city of Jacksonville, Florida, where it remained in service until 1925. It was declared surplus that year and purchased by the Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee. The hospital loaned the fire engine to the Florida State Museum in Gainesville in 1938, and later converted the loan into a donation. During the 1960s it was displayed by the Gainesville Fire Department and by the State Museum. In 1976 it was loaned to the City Fire Museum in Jacksonville, Florida. When that museum closed, the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department took possession of the steamer, displaying it in their headquarters on Julia Street.
The origin of Jacksonville's historic steam engine went unacknowledged until January 2021 when research by Birmingham firefighters Brian Bonner and Stephen Cook, along with author Edward Hass and Southern Vintage Fire Apparatus Association's Jerry Northington, in communication with the Museum of Florida History and the Jacksonville (FL) Fire and Rescue Department were able to determine that the Ahrens No. 459 in their possession was the storied Birmingham engine.