It was early that morning and his father, Dave, then a second lieutenant with the village's volunteer fire department, had already left for the scene. So had the assistant chief, who lived across the street.

All these years he could never get the image of that towering fire truck in front of the Ben Franklin out of his mind.

Tracking down the truck became something like an obsession for Tobin. He heard it had been sold to downstate Salem, Illinois, in 1981.

In 2003 he stopped in Salem overnight while driving home from a convention. But by then Salem had sold the truck to Pierceton, Indiana. So he paid a visit.

McClanahan says it’s also easier to fight a fire in Blount County today than it was, say, 40 years ago, for the simple reason that the county has more in the way of physical and financial resources.

When he began in 1977, McClanahan says there were only 10 fire hydrants in non-incorporated regions of Blount County. Now, as the population has grown, the tax base has increased, and local water utilities have expanded their infrastructure, there are literally hundreds of hydrants available for BCFD firefighters when they head out on a call.

As to firefighting equipment, McClanahan shakes his head when he considers the changes that have taken place during his own lifetime. He still remembers a time, some decades back, when fire trucks were essentially do-it-yourself propositions. There were no corporate manufacturers making trucks specifically for the needs of firefighters.