"Some of the guys act like your second, third, 13th father. They guide you through things," said Shawn Dunstan, who volunteers along with his brother and father.

The station was where their fathers, and the family’s closest friends, spent most of their time.

"All of them know my whole life story. And when I asked how they know this stuff, they tell me, because your dad talks about you all the time," said volunteer Lauren Pinkston, whose father has volunteered since he was 15. "I grew up in the firehouse. I love the family, camaraderie of it."

When their fathers were home, bedtimes were dominated with tales of their fathers’ most recent shifts.

Those options could see the city upgrade or refurbish the building -- or declare it surplus property and try to find a buyer. The QC African-American Museum, a nonprofit group, has expressed interest in buying the building for $1 and converting it into a museum featuring African-American history.

But the major challenge is the cost. Roof and window work is needed; the floors are bowed.

At a June 1 meeting, Rock Island's public works director Randy Tweet estimated upgrading the structure would cost $250,000 to $600,000. Demolition, he said, is estimated at $40,000.

Rock Island's parks and recreation director John Gripp said he has heard differing opinions on what to do with the old fire station. While not a lot of people attended the June 1 meeting, Mr. Gripp said he has since received at least two dozen phone calls from people.

"The majority were for taking that firehouse down and investing in the (Douglas) park," he said.

"If that's what needs to be done, they understood the importance of the firehouse but didn't agree with the funds needed to go with it just to get it started," Mr. Gripp said. "That would be $600,000 to turn it into something usable and $250,000 just to make it safe to go in."

Thanks to the do-it-yourselfers at Bayshore, the repurposing of the vehicle will save more than $100,000.

Bayshore Fire Chief Larry Nisbet said their old 1973 6X6 military brush truck with a standard transmission was no longer capable of doing the work.

"The new vehicle had only 10,000 miles on it and is a four-wheel drive, 2.5-ton military truck with an automatic transmission," Nisbet said. "Because none of the kids these days knows how to drive a stick shift."

It took Bayshore firefighters six months to complete all the work including welding, construction, plumbing and mounting of equipment, painting the unit, and servicing the motor and transmission.

The cost of a new truck, Nisbet said, would likely be more than $125,000. After the department got finished with the old military vehicle, the final cost was less than $10,000.

The vehicle, which was used in Iraq, is loaned to the district by the Florida Forest Service to use and convert as needed. The district is able to use it until it is no longer serviceable or needed on one condition.

Bigfoot's high ground clearance and four-wheel-drive give it the ability to go places smaller brush trucks can't, and its tank has triple the capacity of its less sizable cousins.

Houston Rural obtained Bigfoot for free from the Missouri Department of Conservation, which was given about 160 of vehicles by the U.S. Army. After receiving them, MDC distributed the trucks via an application process.

Two men were basically responsible for Bigfoot's transformation from a mid-1990s model military vehicle to firefighting juggernaut: Kyle Hale and Jon Cook. The two spent thousands of man-hours toiling in Hale's shop building on Highway E north of Houston, stripping down the original truck and then rebuilding it with firefighting equipment and finishing it with a sharp red paint job.

Houston Rural's fleet now features four brush trucks, two pumpers, two rescue vehicles and a tanker. The department's roster includes 15 active firefighters.