Fire engine buffs and anyone else who has ever wanted to get up close and personal with old fire engines will have their chance on Sunday afternoon outside the Chippewa Valley Museum in Carson Park.
Some 10 old trucks will be on display from 1 to 5 p.m., along with one from Eau Claire that is part of the museum’s collection. The display is being provided by the Chippewa Valley chapter of the Society for the Preservation and Appreciation of Motorized Fire Apparatus of America (SPAAMFAA).
Club members, including some retired fire-fighters, will be present to discuss the equipment and answer questions. The trucks will display hoses and other older equipment, according to Okie Allen, secretary of the local club.
The local SPAAMFAA chapter has some 35 members and more than 20 old fire trucks, Allen said. All but two of the trucks are owned by members. One of those two is owned by the club and the other is an old Altoona fire truck that is still owned by the city, he added.
If it is running on Sunday, a 1954 FWD fire engine that club members are currently restoring will be part of the display. That truck was originally used by the Chippewa Falls Fire Department, Allen said, and was one of the popular models in the 1950s.
The local SPAAMFAA chapter has participated in many parades and events in the Chippewa Valley, but this will be its first display at the museum, according to Allen.
Jack Running is the current president of the SPAAMFAA chapter. He is also the chief of the Township Fire Department, a volunteer group of some 140 members that serves the towns of Washington, Seymour, Union, Pleasant and Brunswick.
More information about the local organization is available at www.squeeky-wheel.org.