VIDEO/PHOTOS: The Southwest Fire District has teamed up with Harvester Homecoming Inc. to revive a piece of local history. The Southwest Allen County Fire District announced in a press release that it is collaborating with Harvester Homecoming Inc. to restore a 1941 International K-7 fire truck, the first fire truck that the department ever purchased.
Formerly the Wayne Township Fire Department, Southwest Fire purchased the truck from the Fort Wayne International Harvester Truck Works and used the workhorse vehicle until the mid 1960s, when it was auctioned off. A gentleman from Arkansas reached out to the fire department in 2007 after he purchased the pumper truck at an auction in Texas.
He tracked down the department by the name painted on the doors and asked if they wanted the historic truck back, and they did. Since bringing the truck back home again in 2007, officials have weighed what to do with it and how to get it back in working order. Recently, Southwest Fire District Chief Donald Patnoude and Assistant Chief Thomas Goodwin met with Harvester Homecoming CEO Ryan DuVall, and the restoration is already underway.
WANE-TV CBS 15 Fort Wayne
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