The Baltimore Fire Department bought several Mack “Bulldog” trucks from the Army after World War I. In 1922 the Department’s Maintenance Shops matched this 1919 Type AC Mack with a Holloway horse drawn ladder/chemical wagon built around 1885. The truck went into service at Ladder Company 24 in 1923 and remained in use until 1952. As late as 1960 fire departments used escape nets like the one on this truck. Many firemen injured themselves while trying to make rescues with the net, and many of the people who tried to jump into the nets missed and suffered injury or death. For these reasons the nets were retired from service.
Don Hale restored the truck to its original condition in 1989.