Bellevue buys back 57-year-old fire truck, makes plans for restoration
Oct 3, 2014, 5:00 PM | Updated: Oct 4, 2014, 4:46 pm
After sitting outside in a Bellingham-area backyard for years, Ms. Belle is finally back home where she'll be restored to her original glory. (Photo: Bellevue Fire Department)
(Photo: Bellevue Fire Department)
Ms. Belle, one of the city of Bellevue’s first fire trucks, is in need of some serious TLC, but she’s finally back home.
The 57-year-old truck was discovered in a Bellingham-area backyard, rusted and home to several lucky mice. But after buying back the old truck last week for $3,500, the department plans to restore her for community events.
“We only have had her back in the city for about 10 days. So we’re really excited to have people see her for the first time,” said fire spokesperson Lt. Richard Burke.
The department said it’ll need to raise between $40,000-$60,000 to get the fire truck back to its original state.
While there’s a lot to do, she’s not completely incapacitated.
“I pushed down on the brakes and it stopped and it made me smile,” Burke said. “Even after all these years, the brakes still work.”
Many of the parts Burke thought would be long-gone by now are still a part of Ms. Belle.
“They had people come up who wanted to buy a piece off of it, like the siren or the bubble off the top. They kept her outside, which was tough, but she is all intact. We had one flat tire that we had to fix.”
Burke said they spent a few hours pressure washing the truck and removing all the wildlife that made her a home. She still has quite a journey ahead of her, but they’re going to wheel her out this weekend to meet the community – something they hope will happen more often after a year or so of restoration.
“It’ll be fun to see the kids respond to her,” Burke said.
Jillian Raftery contributed to this report.
