Overview[]
DNC Fire is a fire agency based in Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park.
DNC is an abbreviation for the Delaware North Company, the current concessionaire for Yosemite. While the National Park Service provides the majority of fire service in Yosemite, as part of their contract DNC is required to maintain an engine company in Yosemite Valley for structure response.
Prior concession operators were YCS (Yosemite Concession Services) and the Curry Company which had been offering guest services in the park since the early 20th century.
DNC Fire has one engine, DNC Engine 7, based in Yosemite Village. The department has 10 paid on-call firefighters, who also hold other jobs with DNC. The engine is paged out with the NPS fire units for traffic accidents and other emergencies in addition to fires.
Engine 7 History[]
DNC Engine 7 is possibly one of the most photographed fire engines in the world, not just because of its fantastic surroundings. For 20 years DNC Engine 7 was the former Engine 51, the Ward LaFrance used in the television program Emergency! The engine ended up on active duty in Yosmite beginning in 1988 as the concession contract for the park at that time was held by YCS (Yosemite Concession Services ) which had corporate ties to Universal Studios who had produced Emergency! At the time YCS was still operating an ex-National Park Service 1937 Seagrave pumper and was in search of a replacement. When informed that a fire engine was required, Engine 51 was moved from the backlot of Universal Studios to Yosemite Valley. This was initially a lease arrangement, but the engine was sold to DNC in 1993 when the YCS contract ended. There was a desire to keep 51 as the engine's number but that call sign would have conflicted with an existing United States Forest Service engine located in the nearby community of North Fork. As a concession, the license plate for the engine reads "YCS E51". During the time the engine was at Yosemite every effort was made to maintain the historic appearance of the engine when possible without hindering operational efficiency. The most obvious changes made while serving in the park were the addition of scene lights on telescoping poles, a low profile lightbar (required so the engine would fit through the station door) and seats to accommodate SCBA.
By 2008, the engine was showing its age and a replacement was acquired. In September 2008, arrangements were made to return the Ward LaFrance to Los Angeles County Fire Department where it has rejoined Squad 51 on display at the LA County Fire Museum. The replacement engine is a 1991 Pierce Arrow pumper purchased from the Feasterville Fire Company in Pennsylvania.
Concession engines in Yosemite National Park.[]
Little information is available on the Model T, but all the other engines have used the designator Engine 7.
- 1918 Ford Model T Chemical car
- 1937 Seagrave pumper (Ex-National Park Service, now owned by the LA County Fire Museum)
- 1973 Ward LaFrance Ambassador (1000/500) (Ex-Engine 51, now owned by the LA County Fire Museum)
- 1991 Pierce Arrow (1750/750) (SN#6022) (Ex-Feasterville Fire Company)