Appropriately named for the abundant lakes in the area, New Hampshire’s Lakes Region covers all or portions of five counties at the southern base of the White Mountains. Surrounded by mountains and heavy forests and the recipient of five feet of snow per year, the small town of Tamworth, founded in 1766, is the home of Lakes Region Fire Apparatus, Inc.
BEGINNING
Lakes Region founder and owner Glenn Davis was a volunteer for 34 years in the Moultonborough (NH) Fire Rescue Department before retiring in 2014. He served as captain and also as an engineer for 15 of them. His occupation at the time was a heavy truck mechanic. On what inspired him to start a fire truck repair service, he says, “We experienced firsthand the lack of available pump service and heavy truck service in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. In talking with peers, the same was the norm in several places throughout New England. Well, I was a mechanic, a farm boy, a firefighter, and was raised in a family of small business entrepreneurs. It was a natural next move for a guy in his mid 20s who was looking for something different.”
He started the business as a DBA in 1991 and incorporated it two years later. Davis is the principal owner. He says he still has the opportunity to participate in both selling and working with the tools but mostly manages and assists now. He’s had specialized training in fire pumps with the big three fire pump manufacturers; in apparatus electronics; and with heavy trucks including brakes, suspensions, and steering. He also attended the California Fire Mechanics Academy, whose Web site says, “After more than 49 years of operation, the California Fire Mechanics Academy, Inc. is the oldest and largest emergency apparatus repair and maintenance training opportunity of its kind in the country.” All Lakes Region apparatus repair and service people are on track to becoming EVT-certified.
GROWTH
Davis says, “This company was originally intended to perform in-your-firehouse fire pump repairs. It didn’t take long before we needed a brick-and-mortar location as the workload began to include heavy duty chassis repairs and service. We are rural enough that we service any brand as well as aerials and a couple of boats. In October 1992, we rented our first 3,000-square-foot facility. Four years later, we purchased an 8,400-square- foot building at 688 Route 25 in Tamworth. A 5,600-square-foot-building just down the road at 588 Route 25 became available, and we also purchased that in 2020.” Besides Davis, Lakes Region currently has six full-time employees doing service and repair work. There are two on-the-road service trucks, and there are four part-timers in apparatus sales.
1 Photos courtesy of Lakes Region Fire Apparatus.
Prior to 2003, Lakes Region Fire Apparatus did not sell fire apparatus—it just fixed them. He initially started selling for HME Ahrens-Fox in New Hampshire’s Carrol County. The territory eventually expanded to all of New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts. Recently, Lakes Region became an authorized dealer for Alexis.
NEW ENGLAND APPARATUS MANUFACTURERS
New England was home to many fire apparatus manufacturers that, for one reason or another, ceased operations. Included with their home states are Continental (MA), EG Moody (NH), EJ Murphy (MA), Farrar (MA), Maxim (MA), Maynard (MA), Middlesex (VT), Ranger (RI), Valley (NH), Woods (MA), Probco (RI), and V-Tech (VT). Local fire departments no longer had nearby factories where they could drive their apparatus for service and repair work. After Davis started in business, New Hampshire fire departments operating t