1932 Buick Fire Truck

From “Get Away Car” to Fire Truck

The 1932 Buick Rag Top was stolen and used in a bank robbery and afterward the robbers set the car on fire. The City of Arkansas City purchased the burned-out car from the insurance company in early 1932.

The restoration work of the burned car was completed by local firefighters. The back section of the car was replaced with the bed of a 1909 Kissle, the first motorized fire truck in Arkansas City. Prior to the Kissle, horse-drawn wagons were used to fight fires. The truck was fitted with a 500 gallon per minute pump, 100-gallon water tank, and was equipped to carry 900 feet of two and a half-inch hose and ladders.

The 1932 Buick Fire Truck served the City of Arkansas City for 16 years before it was sold in the early 1950s. A phone call to the Ark City Fire Chief in 1991 informed the department not only the location of the old truck but that it was also for sale. The truck was purchased with donations from area businesses and citizens for $2,250.00.

The old truck was returned back to Arkansas City on a flatbed trailer in very poor condition and in several pieces. Once again the 1932 Buick was restored by the firefighters of the Arkansas City Fire Department, a process that took several years.