American LaFrance is an emergency and vocational vehicle manufacturer, currently based in Summerville, South Carolina

Summerville, South Carolina

Summerville is a town in the U.S. state of South Carolina situated mostly in Dorchester County with small portions in Berkeley, and Charleston counties. It is part of the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area as designated for statistical purposes by the U.S. Office...

. Focusing primarily on emergency apparatus fire engines

Fire apparatus

A fire apparatus, fire engine, fire truck, or fire appliance is a vehicle designed to assist in fighting fires by transporting firefighters to the scene and providing them with access to the fire, along with water or other equipment...

 and fire aerial

Quint (fire apparatus)

A quintuple combination pumper or quint is a fire service apparatus that serves the dual purpose of an engine and a ladder truck. The name quint is derived from the Latin prefix quinque-, meaning five, and refers to the five functions that a quint provides: pump, water tank, fire hose, aerial...

 including ambulance

Ambulance

An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...

 and rescue

Rescue

Rescue refers to responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or prevention of injury during an incident or dangerous situation....

 vehicles.
The American LaFrance Fire Engine Company is one of the oldest fire apparatus manufacturers in America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. With roots that go back to approximately 1832, the companies that went on to become American LaFrance built hand-drawn, horse-drawn, and steam-powered fire engines.