San Mateo Daily Journal

San Mateo Daily Journal:

Historic fire engine nearly restored

By Colleen Watson

Erik Oeverndiek/Daily Journal San Mateo fireman Trevor Kelly and Capt. Robert Davis, of Station 21, look at the books of the history of the restored 1921 Seagrave fire truck that resides at their station. After 19 years of restoration, a piece of San Mateo’s history is finally starting to come to life. The 1921 Seagrave was San Mateo’s first fire engine, sporting wooden spoke wheels and hard rubber tires, it was the only pumping engine in the area. A year before the city’s 1921 purchase, a huge fire destroyed the Peninsula Hotel and the fire department had to ask for assistance from neighboring cities. The city’s leaders realized they needed to make a change. In April 1921, the Seagrave was purchased for $12,500 bringing San Mateo into the modern era of fighting fires. No longer using a motorized chemical wagon, the San Mateo fire department now had a state-of-the-art fire engine. Over the years, the engine was used to fight different fires, and helped save many lives. But it eventually became obsolete and in 1962 was sold to a man in San Jose who eventually sold the engine to a Los Gatos junkyard. After rusting away in the junkyard, San Mateo Fire Capt. Bill Mann bought the Seagrave for $6,000 in 1988. It sat in the fire station’s drill yard for three more years before the San Mateo Firefighters’ Association voted to buy it from the captain. While at the fire station many firefighters gave up their free time to help restore the Seagrave. They spent hours tinkering away at the old engine, cleaning it up or painting the undercarriage. The community also volunteered materials and money to the project, more than 35 organizations and 50 people donated to the restoration. From the silver bell that sits atop the engine to the nozzle on the water hose, “everything has a story of how we gathered it,” said San Mateo Fire Capt. Jeff Barile, also secretary of the Firefighters’ Association, a driving force in the Seagrave’s restoration. “The oil can, that was donated by [former fire chief George] Cocconi, and George drove this engine,” Barile said. Barile is quite dedicated to restoring the Seagrave. “It represents a watershed in our history at the fire department, how we became modernized. … It’s a crying shame it ever left our city,” he said. It may not be as powerful as modern fire engines that can pump 2,000 gallons per minute, the Seagrave still has some life left in her. “This engine does still pump 750 gallon per minute … in case we need it, we’ll put it in service,” said Barile. For now, the Seagrave will spend its retirement participating in parades and fundraisers. It took 19 years and about $45,000 to get the Seagrave running and looking like her old self, but it still has a few things that need to be finished. One of these is adding gold leafing to the engine, so that it looks like it did when first purchased. The 1921 Seagrave can be seen at San Mateo Fire Station 23 at 120 S. Ellsworth St. The Seagrave will be attending the San Mateo Firefighters’ Association fundraising golf tournament this Tuesday, May 8, at 10:30 a.m. at the Poplar Creek Golf Course. The city is donating the green fees so the money raised goes to the restoration of the Seagrave. For more information contact Jeff Barile at 650-522-7925 or 650-533-5639 or check out the San Mateo Fire Fighters’ Association Web site at www.smffa.net.