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West Jordan Journal

West Jordan firefighters band together to purchase 80-year-old fire engine

Jul 27, 2021 11:56AM ● By Erin Dixon

The truck is temporarily parked at Station 54 until a permanent home is found. (Erin Dixon/City Journals)

By Erin Dixon | [email protected]

As West Jordan firefighter Ben Lynch was searching KSL classifieds for old cars, he came across an old fire truck for sale. Though it was an 80-year-old engine, it looked familiar. A black and white photo of the same truck sat in Station 54 in West Jordan. 

“I recognized the panel from the black and white photo,” Lynch said. “I called the guy; it ended up being the exact same one that’s in that photo.”

After its life of service, the truck was auctioned off and sat in a garage for 40 years. It was offered to West Jordan City, but there wasn’t enough interest or funding. West Jordan firefighters from the Professional Firefighters of Utah pooled together their own money to buy the truck back.

Lynch and the others plan to restore the engine to its original glory. Right now, neither engine nor water pump work. The body has rust and peeling paint. Some of the features are made of wood and are deteriorating. But Lynch said with some help, he can save it. 

“A lot of it is surface rust, there's not a lot of damage to it. This is still solid,” Lynch said. 

The work will be slow and most of the labor will be volunteer.

“We will be able to save a lot of money by all the talented guys we have here,” Lynch said.  “We’ve got one guy already rebuilding the carburetor, one guy doing the brake system.”

The group is hoping some people will donate to their cause to fix some of the high-ticket items.

“Ideally, professional shops would probably do a better paint job,” Lynch said. “That’s where a lot of the monetary value will go toward parts and pieces that we may not be able to do ourselves.”

The truck has already been shown as is, pulled by a trailer, in some parades and events. As they fix it up, the plan is to keep showing it off at local events.

“We do a lot of charity work—at the burn camp, a chili cook-off—to raise money,” Lynch said. “This is going to be one of those things that helps out with that. We’ll be taking it to all those events.” 

Visit: gofund.me/e4d51ec1 to donate to the fire truck project.