My fire engine, affectionately known as "Fire 32", is a 1964 Ford C-1000 series cab over with a body built by Wesco. I know, I can hear it now....who in the world is Wesco? In a nut shell, Wesco was a builder based in Berkeley, California that built fire apparatus for just a few years in the early 1960's. The parent company, Industrial Steel Tank and Body Works, bought the fire apparatus business that was once known as Roney Fire Equipment, a Portland, Oregon based builder that built fire apparatus from 1953 until 1960.

Fire 32 was designed by my father, William Beutler, who was a mechanical engineer by trade, and a volunteer fire chief by default. He was the driving force behind a small, but dedicated volunteer department serving the communities of Happy Valley, Sunnyside and Rock Creek, which were on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon. My father was a very progressive fire chief, one who looked at things not as they were, but as he felt they should be. He applied the same principles to his design of fire apparatus, creating two of the most advanced fire engines anywhere in the country.

What really made these rigs a challenge for the builder was the plumbing and electrical systems. All discharges and suctions were out the front and rear, with most valves controlled electrically over air. In other words, the valves were opened and closed by flipping a switch on the pump panel, activating an air cylinder. 

      Read the specs for Fire 32

On the top of the bodies, which were fully decked with aluminum plate as a walking surface, were four 110 volt lamps powered by a built in generator, which also provided power for fans and additional lighting. 

Since my father had never intended on a career in the fire service, he decided that January 1st of 1966 would be the perfect date to step down as fire chief. He had seen the district grow from one broken down fire truck and no volunteers, to a well trained department with two new stations, two new engines and a new first aid vehicle. It was now a fire district that required the services of a full time fire chief. Retirement from the department would allow him more time to dedicate to his family, the home he was building, and his engineering business. Sadly, on October 10th, 1967, he passed away from heart failure at the young age of 41.

Less than a year after my father died, while out on their regular Tuesday night drill in July, the two trucks were severely damaged in a collision when Fire 33 rear-ended Fire 32. What Chief Milt Durham told the media and what really happened are two very different stories. 

Neighboring fire districts came to the aid of Happy Valley Fire District by loaning pumpers to fill the void left by the crash. For a period of time, the two wrecked pumpers sat across from the fire station in the water district lot, in plain view of anyone passing by. As I rode the school bus to and from school each day, I saw the sickening sight of the two mangled pumpers, each looking as if they were casualties of a battle, left to rot by the side of the road.

After assessment by several truck repair companies, it was determined there was too much damage to repair the vehicles, but it was feasible to make one truck out of the two. The insurance paid the $30,000 value for one vehicle, and covered the cost to rebuild the other. The good cab from Fire 32 was removed, and after the frame rails were straightened, installed on the front of Fire 33. During the rebuild, the front discharges and suction were rerouted out the side of the body. The fire district used the insurance money to purchase an American La France Pioneer demo pumper, equipped with a Detroit Diesel 6V53, coupled to an automatic transmission. This was the first diesel powered pumper in the Portland area. 

Click on the links below to learn more about Fire 32

The 70's and 80's
North to Alaska
Restoration

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