Time has come for Lower Milford Township to say so long to little fire truck

LOWER MILFORD TWP., Pa. — The old fire truck has helped save lives. And property. And has slapped frozen grins on children as it transported Santa down through their neighborhood.

So that wistful expression on Lower Milford Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 veteran firefighter Scott Moser's face was completely understandable as he waved the old girl goodbye.

"It's time," Moser said at the fire company Friday. "We’re getting a new truck about the same size to replace it. The old truck is aging and difficult to get parts for. But it has never let us down."It's time. But still, it's hard to let it go."

After 39 years serving the community, the 1983 Chevrolet fire truck — an old but reliable friend in red — has been placed up for auction at municibid.com.

The truck's specs are there for review: a four-wheel-drive, four-speed manual V8, 454-cubic-inch gas engine, with a 250-gallon water tank, and electric hose reel.

With fewer than 28,000 miles.

But what's most significant about the 40-year-old fire truck can't be found in the owner's manual.

"That little truck has been a part of this community forever," Moser said. "Halloween parades, firemen's parades, and kids holding their dogs sitting in it getting their picture taken.

"To some people, it's just a truck. But to many of us, it's much more than a truck."

The little fire engine that could predates Moser, 67. The Bethlehem native began his Lower Milford Fire Company career on that very truck 35 years ago.

"We got it new in 1984," Moser said. "It's a smaller truck — we call it either a brush or attack truck — that can get to places where the bigger trucks can't. We use it for field fires where sometimes the bigger trucks can't get up the narrow roads.

"It was always able to do its job. It's a special truck."

With the new $350,000 replacement truck expected to be delivered within a week, the time had come to say goodbye to the old girl. The fire company contacted municibid early this month to put it up for auction.

"I have no idea who will buy it," Moser said. "Maybe a farmer will use it to water their crops. The truck has two sprinkler nozzles under the bumper, and someone could stand on the back and use the hose.

"I’d like to see some small fire company buy it and keep it working for the community. That's what it's good at."

Bidding on the truck ends Tuesday. As of Friday evening, the high bid stood at $5,300 after 49 bids.

The memories it created will last a lifetime.