By Charles Owens, Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD — With help from the Bill Cole Automall, a vintage 1932 fire truck is back in use for the Bluefield Fire Department.
The Ford Model A fire truck made its first public appearance in more than five years Saturday during Bluefield’s Fall Festival. The plan is to use the old No. 6 at upcoming city events, including the Bluefield Christmas Parade, according to Lt. Brandon McKinney with the Bluefield Fire Department.
“It used to be an icon of the city,” McKinney said of the antique fire truck. “It used to haul Santa Claus, and it has been at lemonade festivals.”
The old fire truck was still being used by the Bluefield Fire Department in service up until the mid 1970s. A 1975 photograph in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph — saved in a scrapbook at the fire station — showed the old fire engine No. 6 in service at a call.
A 1935 photograph shows the same truck responding to a fire in the city. It is believed the Bluefield Fire Department purchased the truck in 1932.
