This is the story of a Napa State Hospital fire truck from the 1950s that had a rough second life on a Central Valley ranch, but is now restored and looking for a new home.
The 1949 Dodge Power Wagon might have been lost to history but for Rich Gunn who lives in Wilton, a "country area" just outside Sacramento.
Gunn had always wanted to restore a vehicle, so when he realized that one of his friends had a 1949 Dodge Power Wagon just sitting around, he offered to buy it. But Gunn’s friend wasn’t ready to sell it, so Gunn kept making offers.
A year later, in September 2010, Gunn got the bad news. His friend had sold the truck to someone else.
That someone else ended up being Gunn’s wife, Linda.
“We had him hook, line and sinker,” Linda Gunn said, remembering the moment. Her husband’s birthday was just a month later. This was his gift.
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“There’s a lot of smiling, memorable moments that have taken place (with the truck),” she said.
It didn’t take long for the Gunns, who are in their seventies, to figure out that the Power Wagon was actually an old fire truck previously used by firefighters at Napa State Hospital. Linda had found the original 1956 and 1961 emergency vehicle permits in the glove compartment.
It turned out that truck was sold to the Napa State Hospital Fire Department in the early 1950s, according to the Gunns. The truck, which had been originally green, was painted red and made into a fire truck used to fight grass fires. It was later painted yellow.
At some point, the State of California sold of some equipment, including the truck, which was purchased by Gary Cassity from a third party in the early 1980s. Cassity used the truck to install fencing that would protect cattle from the Southern Pacific Railroad. Cassity meant to restore the truck back to a fire truck, but instead let it sit until the Gunns purchased it in 2010.
“The bench seat was torn and separated; showing the horse hair used for cushioning the seat (and) the water tank had been removed, but was still with the truck.” Linda Gunn said. As part of the restoration, the entire truck was sand blasted and painted fire engine red. The truck was completely rewired, she said.
Vintage equipment, including a hose reel, hoses, copper fire extinguishers, backpack sprayers, and a growler siren were also added to the truck.
The Gunns have taken the old fire truck to car shows, where is has won a few awards including "Voter's Choice," and parades. But, other than that, they said, it just sits around most of the year.
"Most of the time just sits," Linda Gunn said. "Its not something like if we had a hot rod that we can take and go out to dinner, ya know. You just don’t drive a fire truck around town."
The truck is so special, she said, it should be on display more often. She hopes that it will be purchased by someone who can return it to its original home in Napa County.
"Its a shame," she said, "that its such a neat thing that it cant be more visible to the public."
"I’m really proud of what we did with it but … it’s time for it to be seen by somebody else ... and get seen once in a while," Rich Gunn said. "It’s a neat old truck."
The Gunns are asking $25,000 for the truck plus $2,000 for the trailer to transport it.
"Most of the time just sits. Its not something like if we had a hot rod that we can take and go out to dinner, ya know. You just don’t drive a fire truck around town."
Linda Gunn