The Hicksville Fire Department is restoring a 1948 Seagrove fire truck. Restorations on the 76-year-old vehicle are set to be completed for the HFD’s 100th anniversary in 2028.
Three firefighters who worked with the vehicle joined the department on Nov. 21 to celebrate the beginning of the project.
Karl Schweitzer, who has been a department member for over 40 years, said the process has “been a whirlwind.”
The fire department received the 1948 Seagrove as a donation. The vehicle was decommissioned more than 60 years ago, the department said.
The 1948 Seagrove was capable of pumping 750 gallons of water and was used to fight one of Hicksville’s most damaging fires in 1960, which caused more than $300,000 of damage, the department said.
The department said the truck was sold to another department in 1961 and has been in private ownership since 1990.
Schweitzer said a Hicksville resident had the truck in his family and returned it to the department this year.
The department celebrated the truck’s return on Nov. 13, alongside three firefighters who worked with the truck.
“We had the event to showcase the restoration,” Schweitzer said.
One of the last drivers of the truck, Cliff Doering, is now 99 years old.
Member Charles DiStefano responded on the truck in 1960, and Own Magee was a teenager who washed and waxed the vehicle before becoming a department member.
Doering, DiStefano and Magee joined the department to celebrate the beginning stages of the restoration project.
Schweitzer said “things have changed” since their activity in the department.
Doering, DiStefano and Magee’s homecoming to the fire station provided the opportunity for “generational sharing,” he said.
“To have this opportunity brings the young and the old together,” Schweitzer said.
The first step in the restoration process, he said, is to get the truck road ready. To do this, the engine and brakes must be fixed.
The truck had been dormant for 20 years prior to the donation, Schweitzer said.
Since the 76-year-old vehicle was decommissioned 60 years ago, features of the Hicksville Fire Department fleet have changed, such as the logo.
The department will restore these features back to the original, Schweitzer said.
Schweitzer said two mechanics in the HFD will oversee the restoration.
Schweitzer said the project would boost department morale. The restored truck will be used at department events and programming.
Schweitzer said the HFD department looks to “raise awareness to our efforts to restore it.”
The department started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the restoration, in addition to scheduled in-person fundraisers.
“The restoration will be costly and funded by volunteers, so the members of Emergency Company 5 are asking history buffs, collectors and people interested in seeing this truck come back to life to consider donating,” the GoFundMe says.
The HFD’s goal is $15,000, and have raised $1,550 towards that goal so far.
Schweitzer said the initial funds will be used to restore the engine.
“Please consider helping us reach the early financial goal and bring history alive again in Hicksville,” the site says.
The department said the GoFundMe will be updated with information about the project’s plan, timeline and cost estimates in the future.
“Preserving the history of the fire service is a labor of love, and returning a 76-year-old fire truck to the community keeps history alive,” the department said via the GoFundMe site.
The restoration is set to be complete in 2028, in time for the department’s 100th anniversary.
For anyone interested in donating to the restoration, please visit gofund.me/d4b9c116
