GREENSBORO, N.C. — A rare piece of Greensboro Fire Department history returned home Monday, more than a century after it was first purchased and decades after it last served the city, according to the department.
American LaFrance Steam Engine No. 496, built in 1904, arrived in Greensboro after being away for more than 85 years. The engine was originally purchased by the Greensboro Fire Department the same year and was the first engine produced after the formation of the American LaFrance Fire Engine Co.
The nearly nine-foot-tall engine, which weighs more than four tons, served the city into the 1920s, remained in reserve through the 1930s and last pumped water in 1940…