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.

"We've outgrown this building and need to build another one not too far down the road," said Chief Ray Goodwin. "That's why we put together the Building Committee and have started working on a new facility."

According to Goodwin, the existing building was constructed in the 1950s by volunteers and more than served its purpose in the intervening six decades. However, dramatic changes in firefighting techniques and equipment have rendered the building unsuitable for long-term usage and impossible to accommodate some apparatus.

"Our apparatus bays are too few in number and inadequate to accommodate new fire equipment," Goodwin said. "We also have no apparatus bay vent system; most of our interior systems are obsolete; and we have a lack of storage space."

The department's newest fire truck is too large to fit into the building, so it spends every day outdoors and exposed to the elements. On the crowded parking area adjacent to the building, a temporary shelter houses two vehicles simply because there is no space indoors for them.

With a dire need for a new station, the Onset Fire District Building Committee began meeting in 2015 and has already developed a preliminary timetable for completion of the project. Chaired by Bill Lockwood, the committee has targeted 2019 as the finish date for a new station once a critical component - its location - is secured.