Engine No. 4 served Rancho Cucamonga for 30 years. It was eventually sold to the fire department in Baker where it would spend 10 years working in the desert community along the 15 Freeway.  

Eventually, though, the 1959 American LaFrance vehicle just had to be replaced  and was put up for sale.  

Now retired, Klusman had taken up restoring antique tractors and old autos as a hobby. Talking with a firm in Rialto, he heard the story of old Engine No. 4 and its ignominious desert parking spot.

Major renovations started in the fall of last year after mold was found inside the walls of the bunk area where firefighters sleep.

"We noticed a smell, and we just kept having problems with moisture," said Belton Fire Chief Bruce Pritchard.

Pritchard said the quality of the air was tested to make sure firefighters were not at risk of getting sick.

"Once they came and did the tests, that's the only place the mold was. The firefighters were never in danger," Pritchard said. "It wasn't exposed to the outside area. They found it once they got in it, so the living area was never exposed to the mold."

Public Works Director Jeremy Heuerman said the design services agreement, which will cost the city $74,500, will include services to make the former Apria Healthcare building into "a fully operational fire station." The building will need a new floor, new overhead doors, new windows, HVAC system and lighting.  

The Fire Station 3 building on South Banker Street has been appraised for $276,000. The city is expected to sell it for $200,000 to Russ Braunecker Buick-Cadillac-GMC, which will spend an estimated $76,000 in renovation and use it as an extension of its business.

Fire Chief Bob Tutko said the Jaycee Avenue facility will be updated to accommodate today's fire equipment and needs. The Banker Street fire station was built in the 1970s, and Tutko said the building has outlived its usefulness as a fire station.