Longtime Gilpin firefighter, fire truck collector dies at 92

Lawrence Goodbread didn’t just love fire trucks, he collected them.

Goodbread, who died Dec. 18 at 92, owned two antique fire trucks at the time of his death.

To honor the longtime firefighter and avid collector, a 1946 Ford fire truck that Goodbread took to parades was parked outside the church where his funeral service was held Monday.

“I can’t think about Lawrence without thinking about a fire truck,” the Rev. Neil Galley said at Goodbread’s funeral, which was attended by about 100 people, including many from the fire community to which he belonged.

Goodbread was eulogized by his eldest son, Jeff Goodbread, who spoke highly of his service to the Gilpin Township Volunteer Fire Department and the Lower Kiski Ambulance Service.

More than a dozen members of the Gilpin fire department attended the service and drove the 1946 Ford fire truck to it.

Phillip McConville, chief of the department, said Lawrence began serving with Gilpin in 1955 and continued responding to calls until the last eight months of his life.

“He would come mostly for daytime calls, because he knew we would be short-handed,” McConville said.

Lawrence Goodbread also acted as photographer for the department and was secretary for several years. McConville said he was “a long-standing fixture” who will be missed.

Lawrence Goodbread’s passion for firefighting went beyond his many years of service. He was a founding member and trustee of the Tri-State Antique Fire Engine Association, a group dedicated to collecting and preserving classic firefighting equipment. The group also holds an annual Fire Muster at Point State Park in Pittsburgh.

In addition to the antique trucks he collected, Lawrence Goodbread probably had more than 100 model fire trucks in his house, some of them that he hand-carved, his son Gregg Goodbread said. The house is strewn with newspaper clippings about fires, train wrecks and “anything that fire trucks were involved in,” Gregg Goodbread said.

There are subscriptions to publications such as “Fire Times” and “Engine, Engine.” There are helmets, fire extinguishers and other paraphernalia that Lawrence Goodbread collected.

“He was just always interested, ever since he was a little kid,” Gregg Goodbread said. “It’s just what he loved to do.”

Gregg Goodbread said his father’s involvement in the fire department, Lower Kiski Ambulance and Tri-State Antique Fire Engine Association were just a few ways that he sought to support his community. He also was a World War II veteran and gave to charitable causes supporting the community.

“He gave endlessly to the different charities and stuff,” Gregg Goodbread said. “He really liked the small town, and he tried to support all the local businesses as much as he could.”

Lawrence is survived by three sons, Jeff, Gregg and Brian Goodbread, and their spouses; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Annabell Lee Goodbread, and his sister, Janice Kawka Metro.

Correction: The Gilpin Township Volunteer Fire Department owns the 1946 Ford fire truck that was parked outside Lawrence Goodbread’s funeral Monday. The story has been updated.