OREN

Roanoke Welding & Equipment Co. (1927-c1943)

Oren Fire Apparatus Co. (c1943-1949)
Roanoke, Virginia
Oren Roanoke Corp. (1949-1976)
Roanoke & Vinton, Virginia
Oren Roanoke Div. Grumman Emergency Products (1976-c1984)
Vinton, Virginia

This is an Oren radiator emblem (1952-c1954)   flickr
Size: 253mm wide 70mm high    MM: Unknown

Oren D. Lemon started an auto repair and welding shop in Roanoke, Virginia in 1917. The business grew and became the Roanoke Welding & Equipment Company in 1927. By the mid-1930's, the company was building commercial vehicle bodies, including light duty fire trucks on commercial chassis. By 1937, Roanoke Welding was building a growing number of well constructed triple combination pumpers and by the early 1940's fire engines were the company's main products.  

The Oren fire engine business grew rapidly after the Second World War. Oren continued to build their distinctive fire apparatus on commercial chassis, but, in the late 1940's, Oren began to build its own custom-chassis fire apparatus. initially based on Available chassis. By 1949, Oren had started to build their own heavy-duty custom chassis using Corbitt components. Oren advertised themselves as "The South's Only Fire Truck Manufacturer". Oren used Duplex chassis from 1954 following the collapse of the Corbitt business.

Oren was acquired by Howe Fire Apparatus Company in 1961 and moved to a new plant in Vinton in 1962. Howe and Oren were acquired by Grumman in 1976 and the Oren name disappeared in the mid-1980's.

Emblems

Oren fire apparatus built on commercial chassis displayed the radiator emblems of the chassis manufacturer, although the "Oren" name was also displayed on serial plates attached to the fire apparatus body, see example shown below:

Oren Roanoke Welding & Equipment Co. serial plate (1942) facebook

Some Oren fire engines built on commercial chassis in the late 1930's and early 1940's also displayed the "Oren" name on Oren hood side nameplates with rounded ends, see example shown below on an Oren/Chevrolet pumper:

Oren/Chevrolet pumper ad (1944)    ebay

Oren/Chevrolet pumper showing Oren hood side nameplate (1944)

The Oren custom chassis fire apparatus built using Corbitt components in the late 1940's and early to mid-1950's used Oren emblems and hood ornament instead of Corbitt emblems. 

The Oren fire truck shown in the following 1951 Oren advertisement shows an Oren radiator emblem with rounded ends, similar to the earlier hood side nameplates, together with an Oren hood ornament:

Oren fire truck ad (1951)   ebay

Oren fire truck with rad emblem & hood ornament (1951)

This is an Oren radiator emblem also used as a hood side nameplate on some models:

This is an Oren radiator emblem (c1950)  moroz
Size: Unknown

Surviving Oren fire engines from 1952 have a larger rectangular Oren radiator emblem and the same Oren hood ornament, see examples shown below and at the top of this post:

Oren fire truck showing emblem & hood ornament (1952)  bindman

Oren fire truck with rad emblem & hood ornament (1952)  vmt

This is an Oren fire truck radiator emblem (1952-c1954)  flickr
Size: 253mm wide 70mm high     MM: Unknown

This is an Oren fire truck hood ornament (1949-c1954)  corbitttrucks