"I'm a volunteer firefighter, so I like seeing all the old vehicles and all the history," Dan Smith of Sand Creek said. "Back then you didn't have a lot, so they did with what they had." Another truck displayed was the museum's own 1931 Seagrave fire engine which is not usually publicly displayed.

Restoring the truck, a process that cost him about $131,000 and spanned over 15 years since he purchased the truck in 1999, was not easy for Finseth -- it took about a year for him to get the firetruck, which started its run in Eau Claire in 1938, then moved to Fall Creek in 1954, where it was eventually retired in the late 1990s and given to the Fall Creek Lions Club.

Mayor William Bell said the demolition is a sign to the community of things to come.

"It symbolizes our commitment to move forward, to make sure we do what we can to, as speedily as possible, build this fire station to add to the safety and protection of our citizens in this community," he said.