For more than a year, the college’s automotive technology students and instructors have been working to restore the truck to running order, a task which instructor David Weavil said was monumental. “It was a good experience for the students,” he said. “The brakes didn’t work, and it didn’t crank. It’s sheer size and weight were a challenge in getting it to the shop from the training center.”

The quint that will be purchased with the grant money is a multifunctional ladder truck, Koepp said. It will replace a 1990 quint that has mechanical and structural issues, according to Krotche. The truck is needed for the city to keep its ISO rating, which affects insurance rates in the city, and to give firefighters the tools they need when they have to fight a fire from a higher elevation.

The fire truck saga begins in 1946 when the Beaverton Fire Department purchased a 1946 Darley fire engine. The engine remained in service until 2002 when a new truck was purchased from Circle K, which had been a Darley dealer since 1993. Founded by Al Kloha in 1986, Circle K took the 1946 engine as a trade-in for the new one.

"Of course, Pops (Al) wanted to keep it," said son, Ron, who now owns the business. "It was in service right up until the day it was replaced in 2002. It has had many years of wear and tear on it."