Packard 223 Two Seater Roadster Fire Chief
This Packard fire chief’s car has attractive ‘blind’ or ‘disc’ wheels, instead of the usual spoked wheels which were less sturdy.
Fire Chief Augustin J. Cote from Woonsocket in the American state of Rhode Island was once described by a colleague as a ‘Packard Man’. In 1926 he bought this Packard six-cylinder as a ‘first aid’ car, one of the first of its kind in the state.
The car, equipped with two warning lights and a siren, as well as a large searchlight and a bell, was cherished by Cote. He seldom drove the car himself but had one of his two assistants drive him. Whether summer or winter, the hood was almost always down.
The Packard was in service until Cote retired in 1954, after which the car was sold to a private buyer. The latter fully restored the car which was then thirty years old, but he removed all the fire equipment. Around 2005 the Packard was restored once more to its original specification as a fire chief’s car. A.J. Cote’s years of service can still be seen on the door: from 1901 to 1954.