Another midwest U.S. fire apparatus manufacturer who delivered Forward Control Fire Trucks on the Jeep FC platform was John Bean Co. of Lansing, Michigan.
John Bean trucks can sometimes be identified by covered booster reels (30K JPEG). This 1963 FC-170 Bean Piston Pumper was originally built for McGuire Air Force Base, then later sold to the Berkeley Heights, New Jersey F.D.
Since retirement it has been displayed at Chrysler events (70K JPEG) and as of 2008 belongs to Cecil DeLoach at Hook and Ladder Winery in California (see The FC Connection.)
An advertisement for the John Bean 200 Series (140K JPEG) boasts of "fire-killing wallop with the scat and mobility of a sports car." It lists Model 200FJ as carrying a 200-gallon tank on the FC-170 chassis, although the illustration shows an FC-150.
These mini-pumpers used a high-pressure pump and fog nozzles, which "stretches 200 gallons of water a long way." John Bean promoted their high-pressure-fog system extensively from the 1940s to the 1960s.
See more on early Bean fog engines in a story about an Early CJ-2A Fire Engine on CJ3B.info.
This Bean promotional photo shows an FC-150 fog demonstrator, reportedly a 1957. Bean is the only manufacturer to frequently use the little FC-150, which is rarely seen with other nameplates.
A 1960 FC-150 was in service with the Princeton, Iowa Fire Department, which has long used a white and gold livery. This truck is unusual for the aftermarket dual rear wheels supporting its 250 gallons of water, an ample supply for a high-pressure fog system. Photo by Steve Mieszala.
This FC-150 with an unknown history is in the two-tone red and white paint scheme that Bean seemed to favor. Photo courtesy Scott Billingsley, taken at an FC gathering.
Another high pressure FC-150, complete with a load of supply hose, apparently served at a Corning Glass plant in Pennsylvania until the facility was decommissioned. Thanks to Dennis Duffer Jr. for these photos.
The booster line fog nozzle is clearly seen in this photo.
Corning was not the only glass company that used FC fire engines. Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass had several Howe FC-170 Jeeps at plants in the U.S. and Canada.
Here's another industrial truck which appears to be a Bean, but this time it's an FC-170. When Josh Halligan took these photos it was still lettered on its doors (100K JPEG) for the U.S. Steel complex in Duluth, Minnesota.
The Duluth Works opened in 1915 and was briefly one of the world's most advanced steel plants. Most of the steel it produced was shipped to other facilities for finishing, but in the 1940s when this postcard photo was taken, it also reportedly turned out more than 200,000 miles of barbed wire and 23,000 miles of woven fencing in a year.
In the 1950s and early 1960s, when the Jeep was purchased, U.S. Steel was still investing in improvements to the Duluth plant. By the late 1960s however, foreign steel was cheaper than what could be produced domestically, and the Duluth Works was also recognized as a major source of pollution. The facility was completely closed by 1981. (Wikipedia)
A demonstration high-pressure fog unit on an FC-170 chassis is seen here on loan to the Chicago Fire Department in 1961.
CFD apparently purchased only one "Fog Pressure Jeep," according to ChicagoAreaFire.com. Their later fog units were from Darley / International Harvester (320K JPEG). Photos by Warren Redick.
See also some unique special apparatus in Chicago FD's Jeep FC Units.
Estates. Maybe the HEFD saw that Bean demonstrator in 1961, and decided to buy one of the high-pressure units.
See the right side (120K JPEG). Bill Friedrich photos courtesy of illinoisfiretrucks.com.
Where would you be surprised to come across a Bean FC? How about Israel? This FC-170 is lettered for Moshav Ofer, a village in northern Israel. Photo by Yohai Rodin on Flickr.
Here's a great shot from the Dexter, Michigan Fire Department of their FC in action. Hard to be certain, but the fog nozzle and what looks like a pair of covered booster reels suggest that it's a Bean unit.
This 1961 FC-170 DRW was built for the Chippewa Township VFD in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. It's loaded with storage compartments and has a covered booster reel.
A Bean fog nozzle can be seen on the booster hose, in this photo taken at the Jeep history display at the 2017 Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival, courtesy of jeepfan.com.
Chippewa Twp. bought the FC-170 chassis through Fisher Ford Sales in Ambridge PA, and sent it to Bean in Lansing MI for the rear bodywork and installation of the pump. Members of the VFD are seen here following delivery of the completed truck on 6 November 1960. Its first run was to a house fire on 28 November 1960. Following its retirement in March 1990 it was sold to Gary Kennedy, who owned and showed it for many years until selling it to a Houston collector in 2024.
The dual rear wheels support a 275-gallon water tank and a rear-mounted pump. There is no hose bed in the rear because there is no output connection from the pump except for the booster reel, and a valve inside one of the compartments for filling backpack pumps. It's not clear why Chippewa Twp. asked for this configuration, but it is a simple way of providing pump and roll capability. This is certainly an unusual and probably unique piece of John Bean apparatus.
The 50 GPM pump is driven by an 18 HP Wisconsin engine. This serial number and maintenance tag is mounted near the pump.
Chippewa Twp. VFD clearly saw the value of dual rear wheels in giving a Jeep the capacity to carry a useful amount of water. See more details on their 1965 DRW CJ-5.
Thanks to all the photographers. -- Derek Redmond
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