THE CITY OF MT. VERNON, ILLINOIS, IS RUNNING out of room for vehicle storage.  The city manager and city council decided that the old 1939 Diamond T fire engine has to go.  For the past five years, the antique pumper has been stored in a city equipment building, but the room is needed for some arrivals that will be kept there.  City Manager Ron Neibert announced that the city could no longer afford to store and maintain a piece of equipment that was no longer functional.

When the city announced that they would be including the old engine in an auction of city surplus, the members of IAFF Local 738 began a petition drive to save and preserve the important piece of the city fire department’s history.  This past Wednesday Neibert announced that the city and the local have come to an agreement permitting the local to save and preserve the engine.  The Mt. Vernon Register-News writes:

“The understanding would give the union the opportunity to do several things,” Neibert explained. “First, they have to find a place to store the engine outside of city property by the end of this year because the city has new equipment and needs the space. Second, they have 12 months from Jan. 1 to develop and implement a plan to refurbish the vehicle and put it in a location appropriate for the truck to display the history. If they can accomplish those goals, then they can keep it locally.”

Mt. Vernon firefighter and Local 738 member Doug Boczek said the petition drive was a way to preserve the fire department’s history.  “The history of fire service has always been a big thing,” Boczek said. “It’s a really proud thing for not only the fire department but for the city. We’re not trying to keep the fire engine as a union, but as firefighters for the history.”

Read the full story HERE.

FROM THE LOCAL 738 WEBSITE:

The Diamond T was constructed in St. Louis by the Central Fire Truck Corporation. The MVFD continued to run calls with the older trucks during this time, including a massive blaze that destroyed the Wesley Methodist Church on January 15, 1940. On the same day, the largest fire to date occurred in Woodlawn at the Watkins Hatchery, the largest business in town. The lack of available fire apparatus caused this huge blaze to completely destroy the business. Shortly after that, Chief Partridge proposed the purchase of a “community” fire truck. The truck would be housed in Mt. Vernon and driven by Mt. Vernon firemen, however small volunteer departments would be formed in small towns in the area to actually fight fire with the truck. This was the first time such an idea was proposed in Jefferson County.

On March 3, 1940 the newly constructed fire engine arrived in Mt. Vernon. It was lettered No. 8, as it was only the 8th fire fighting vehicle used by the MVFD. The truck was a 110 hp Diamond T chassis with a 500 gallon per minute pump and a 125 gallon booster tank. The principle features of the new apparatus were the booster tank (new for this area), the foamite and Du-Gas equipment, for fighting oil, gasoline and automotive fire, also new features for this area.

Click on the Local’s webpage HERE for the complete story and more photos.