Coronado's Fire Chief, Mike Blood would like to extend his gratitude to the Coronado Unified School District for working with him to address a need related to a vehicle that represents the Coronado Fire Department's history: the 1938 Little Mack pumper. As a part of the Fire Department fleet, the Little Mack pumper operated out of the Village Fire Station until it was retired in 1976. At that point, the Little Mack was sold and its whereabouts were unknown until 30 years later when the pumper was found in poor condition in a horse corral in the eastern San Diego County.
The return and restoration of the Little Mack was a combination of good luck and teamwork. The owner, Hardy Day, was happy to donate the pumper truck back to the City of Coronado upon one condition; that he be permitted to ride on the Little Mack whenever he wanted. City Leaders recognized its historical value and provided funding to help restore the vehicle. With help and guidance from the City's master mechanic Bill Gise and the labor of other Public Service employees as well as City's firefighters, the vehicle was restored to its current condition as a beautiful parade rig.
While Blood feels that the Little Mack is the best looking entry in all of our recent Fourth of July parades, it was missing one thing. It did not have an adequate place for the passengers to sit while riding in the parade. This is where the School District got involved.