Copyright 2006 Chattanooga Publishing Company
By RON CLAYTON
Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)
DECATUR, Tenn. — When the city bought its first firetruck in 1958, all it could afford was a 20-year-old Darley.
But the sturdy truck served the region for 26 years.
Veteran firefighters remember how it was used to save the Meigs County Courthouse and to help fight the McMinn County Courthouse fire in the late 1960s.
The Darley stayed in use even after the city bought a new truck in 1978, but it finally was retired in 1984.
Now several retired firefighters are restoring the engine for use in parades and celebrations.
The city installed a water system and fire hydrants in the early 1950s. Dee McKenzie remembers how firefighters battled blazes before Engine No. 1 was purchased.
Fire crews had a wagon pulled by a tractor to haul equipment, Mr. McKenzie said. Hose would be hooked directly to the fire hydrants.
“It took two men to hold the hose. It would blow out windows,” he said.
The city found the used truck in Smithville, 90 miles away. Herb Rockholt said four firefighters went to pick it up and drove the open-cab truck back to Decatur on a cold January day.
“We’d each drive about 20 miles, and another would take over,” Mr. Rockholt said. The men were nearly frozen by the time they reached Meigs County, he said.
Fire Chief Eddie Jewell said the pumper still is classified as Engine No. 1, but the city now has four other fire engines. The fleet includes a rescue and command vehicle recently purchased with Homeland Security funds.
Local mechanic Moose Hays repaired Engine No. 1 and got it running. All its equipment is original, including the motor and pump, siren and a red light on the bumper, Mayor Dean Henry said. Even the upholstery and dashboard are original.
“We even have the original lug wrench,” retired firefighter Harles Colbaugh said.
The project will include two new front tires, some motor work and possibly a new paint job. The work is funded by donations.
Mr. Henry said he hopes to have all of the city’s living mayors riding in the truck in the Decatur Christmas parade.