Colorado Battalion Chief Restores 1951 Fire Truck
BY AMY SPEER
Shifting to neutral then third, Kevin Maloney double clutches the gears. The 1951 fire engine responds, giving a slight groan before picking up speed.
A brisk breeze, not even 40˚F, whirls around the open cab of Maloney’s historic truck. Unphased by the cold, the Greeley (CO) Fire Department battalion chief grins. “See that chrome light?” he asks, nodding toward the hood of the pumper truck. “That’s my favorite part. The nose. I love how the chrome reflects back the lines of the truck as I’m driving. I can see its face—the truck’s personality.” He grins again and nods in affirmation.
1 Greeley (CO) Fire Department Battalion Chief Kevin Maloney stands next to his refurbished Peter Pirsch pumper. (Photos by author unless otherwise noted.)
But, Maloney sees more than just the iconic curved lines of the 1951 Peter Pirsch pumper. The white paint stirs up memories of his father, who passed away 26 years ago, and through the windshield, he pictures what Greeley was like before it became a sprawling Colorado city. And, Maloney will never forget the truck’s new “firsts”—a bumper sit with his friend, Alvan, and the engine’s (re)maiden voyage with his wife, Victoria, in an empty parking lot, where she mastered driving the rig. Call it nostalgia, but it’s what drove Maloney to refurbish the neglected fire truck that once served the streets of Greeley; Salida, Colorado; and eventually, Buena Vista, Colorado, where it became a postcard image. Now, the truck has a new story, one that has taken more than two years to (re)make.
THE REMAKING OF THE VIGILANT
More than 2½ years ago, a friend forwarded Maloney the classified ad that would bring the long-lost Greeley truck back home. Originally built in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the truck could pump 750 gallons of water per minute. The Pirsch, the Cadillac of fire apparatus back then, was delivered new to Greeley in 1951 and served much of its time as Engine 1 until it was replaced in 1956.
When Maloney saw the ad, the truck had two things going for it: its ties to Greeley, a department Maloney has served for 26 years, and its almost uncanny resemblance to another fire truck that was captured in a 1950s newspaper photograph showing a white pumper from Pueblo, Colorado, that happened to catch fire. In the faded black-and-white image, two firefighters work to put out the flames, one of them being his father, Jack. “I’ve always been fond of historic fire trucks, especially this era, because it was a time when my dad served as a fireman.”
Jack Maloney was more than just a fire engineer. He was a vehicle magnet, collecting and refinishing antique cars and vintage motorcycles. First, there was a 1951 Aerial Square 4. Then came a hot Jaguar with a sun roof, followed by a 1928 Packard limousine. After that, a 1931 Cadillac, two Indians, a