Thompson currently owns a 1978 Ford F-700 firetruck pumper unit that’s all-original, unrestored and still pumps. He previously owned a firetruck for about 13 years, but he sold it due to how much work it required. Eventually, though, seller’s remorse started to kick in.
“I missed having a firetruck so much that I realized I had to get another one,” said Thompson. “It’s just a blast. It’s just stupid, crazy fun.”
Thompson, a retired General Motors Co. engineer, bought his latest firetruck on eBay from a collector in Flint in 2015. Before that, the truck had a long career that spanned multiple states and fire departments.
Although he’s still researching the truck’s history, Thompson said he has determined that the firetruck was purchased brand-new in 1978 by a fire department in Pennsylvania, and then it moved on to a fire department in Missouri. It made its way to Sedan, Kansas, in the mid-to-late ’90s, where it stayed in service until 2013.Â