By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
- Bangor Township, Mich. — The Antique Toy & Firehouse Museum has acquired a rare FDNY Super Tender, reuniting it with the museum’s FDNY Super Pumper after a five-day cross-country trek from California. FireRescue1
- Provenance: The Super Tender was deaccessioned by FDNY in 1989 and purchased by Hewy Wick, later owned by Ruth Wick; it was restored and often displayed at 9/11 memorial events. FireRescue1
- System specs: The 1964 Super Pumper System—built for NYC industrial-scale incidents—was rated at 8,800 gpm; the Tender carried LDH, a 10,000-gpm monitor, and support equipment. FireRescue1
- How it happened: A community fundraising drive plus a $100,000 challenge grant from Stewart & Kathryn McMillan (TFT) funded the acquisition and transport. FireRescue1
BANGOR TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A storied piece of New York fireground history is back beside its legendary partner. After museum volunteers secured the vehicle in California on Dec. 10 and coordinated a five-day haul, the FDNY Super Tender arrived in Michigan on Dec. 15, joining the FDNY Super Pumper already on display at the Antique Toy & Firehouse Museum—one of the largest fire collections in the country. “Now the work begins,” said museum vice-chair Mike Snyder, noting restoration and exhibit prep ahead. FireRescue1
Commissioned in 1964, the Super Pumper System was FDNY’s answer to massive water-supply demands at refineries, piers and heavy industry—moving up to 8,800 gallons per minute. The Super Tender served as the logistics and firepower backbone, bringing large-diameter hose, a 10,000-gpm water monitor, and additional equipment to sustain long-duration operations. Together, the pair became synonymous with FDNY’s high-capacity tactics for extraordinary incidents. FireRescue1
The Tender’s modern journey traces to its 1989 deaccession, when Hewy Wick purchased and restored the unit, showing it for decades at community events—especially ceremonies commemorating 9/11. Following Ruth Wick’s stewardship, the museum mobilized a donor effort to bring the apparatus east. The campaign was capped by a $100,000 challenge grant from Stewart and Kathryn McMillan; Stewart, the former Task Force Tips CEO, first witnessed the system working a New York fire as a young firefighter in 1971. FireRescue1
With the Super Tender now parked alongside the Super Pumper, museum staff say they’ll create an interpretive exhibit that explains how the system moved water at volumes rarely seen today and influenced large-flow operations across the fire service. FireRescue1