Firefighter’s Pumper Now Party Vehicle

When he was a boy, Paul R. Widmark wanted to be a fireman.

When he grew up, Widmark not only became a firefighter, he bought a firetruck.

“Out of the blue I once told my father it would be fun to have a firetruck as a hobby,” said the one-time Santa Ana carpenter who quit his job to become a fireman. Widmark thought he could turn a truck into a hands-on laboratory of fire safety for children.

His dad did not forget his wish.

“My father wrote me that a fire department in Gardiner, Ore., near where he was living, was going to sell their old firetruck,” said Widmark, 42, a one-time sailor on the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, where he learned shipboard firefighting.

It was a fully operable 1949 Chevrolet and had been driven only 4,000 miles in a town of about 100 people.

“It was in very good shape,” he said. “It sat in a garage for some 40 years.”

The truck pumps 250 gallons a minute contrasted with the 1,500 to 2,000 gallons pumped by modern-day engines.

“I bought it for about $4,000,” said Widmark, now a firefighter with the San Onofre Fire Department, a job he landed three years ago at age 38.

“I felt at my age, getting another job with a fire department was going to be tough. Most of the departments were hiring younger guys,” said the father of two children. “They took a hard look and hired me. I felt real good about that.”

And his wife, Bobbie Widmark, 42, felt good about their new firetruck.

“My wife thought we could use it for a business by taking it to children’s birthday parties and letting kids go for a ride in it with the siren sounding,” he said.

It was something new and a positive venture, Widmark thought.

Benches seating 12 were installed.

“I really get a big charge seeing the kids and how excited they get when I pull up to the house in the fire engine,” said Widmark. “When they get on the engine they use the same fire department language they hear on television.”

The charge is $120 for use of the truck, including coats and helmets for party-goers.

“We thought this would be an alternative to regular birthday parties,” said Widmark, who earlier felt that he would end up as a house building contractor like his father and grandfather.

Besides parties, Widmark drives the truck to various community events during fire safety week in South Orange County.

“It gives kids and adults a chance to compare modern-day engines with mine,” said Widmark, an Oceanside resident. “I get a lot of satisfaction giving safety talks.”