Rising From the Ashes : When Restored, 1921 Truck Will Be Used for Fire Prevention

Spread across the floor of Fire Station No. 5 like the bones of a skeleton, a radiator, water tank and bumper recall the 1921 pumper truck they once graced.

The rest of the ancient firetruck, stripped down to an engine and some gears sitting naked atop four wheels, sits in an alcove behind shinier, more modern rigs.

This hodgepodge of rubber, metal and glass is Santa Ana Fire Capt. Tim Graber’s historical project. He is restoring the city’s first motorized pump truck, which was found rotting in the city supply yard last year, in time for the Huntington Beach Fourth of July Parade.

While the Seagrave Pumper should look new once completed, it will be more than a museum piece.

“Why am I doing this? Because I have nothing else to do?” Graber joked. “No. I’m into fire prevention and education. I’m after something that gets into the kids’ heads that will teach them.”

In addition to parades, Graber hopes to display the truck at schools and at fire-prevention and other community events. “This is a showstopper,” he says.

Santa Ana Fire Chief Marc Martin knew of at least four Orange County cities with restored rigs, but was glad to have one in his department. “When I got here, that thing was under a tarp,” Martin said. “It really is a fire chief’s dream.”

Graber, 46, who oversees historical preservation for the Santa Ana Fire Department, was given the go-ahead last year to restore the engine, but with one catch: no city money.

So Graber enlisted the help of local businesses, which have donated paint and refurbished aging parts, and fellow firefighters, who have polished the truck and taken it apart. An auto restorer told Graber it would cost $25,000 to do the job.

One volunteer is Robert Escalante, owner of Custom Auto Service in Santa Ana, who is advising Graber. Escalante specializes in restoring Packard automobiles.

Graber “is maintaining a part of Americana,” Escalante said.

Graber’s project involves breaking the truck down and putting it back together, from removing rust to restoring the odometer and, of course, the obligatory deep red paint job.

“The marching orders were to take it back to original as much as possible,” Graber said. “Original color and original equipment.”

The fire engine was purchased for $12,000 in 1921 from the Seagrave Co. in Columbus, Ohio, according to an old newspaper account.

Graber says the truck was sold as salvage in 1950, which means it had about the same life span as a modern firetruck--20 years of active duty and another 10 of reserve.

The Irvine Co. scooped up the engine, possibly to water its fields, Graber said. In the early 1960s, it was sold to local rancher Fred M. Kelley, who used the engine for irrigation and fire protection.

After the Fire Department’s 100th birthday, in 1983, Kelley swapped the city the pumper for a 1959 Crown Firecoach.

Graber said the city planned to restore the 1921 truck, but because of budget problems it deteriorated in the city yard.

Then, last year, a fellow firefighter alerted Graber to the truck’s plight.

“I have a very sad picture,” Graber says. “Flat tires, dirt, grime.”

Once the truck is restored, Graber said, it will be able to pump water and fight a fire.

But he is a little nervous about putting the engine to work.

“I certainly hope the city won’t press it into front-line service,” joked Graber, “but will leave it in reserve for educational benefits.”