Old fire trucks on a used-car lot on U.S. 40 stoke memories

Paint fades, but old fire trucks shine forever. They race sitting still, and their sirens wail in the quiet.

Dan Hampton will tell you. He’s a salesman at a used-car lot on U.S. 40 in Kansas City, and his boss managed to acquire nine vintage fire trucks, 1937 to 1955 models, that served small towns like Bland, Mo.; Tonganoxie, Kan.; and Murrayville — don’t know what state. Lettering on the door just says Murrayville.

As soon as the trucks arrived out front at Wholesale Car Outlet Sales, drivers started pulling in for a closer look. And despite dull chrome and cracked hoses, people take pictures. Or they’ll have a story about how their daddy or grandpa worked on one just like these.

Hampton said one old guy saw the ad on Craigslist and called to say he’d worked on that very truck, the one that said “Slater FD No. 1” on the side. He asked if he could bring his old helmet down and get his photo taken.

Sure thing.

“The only thing I know about firefighting is a little I did in the Navy,” said Hampton, 68. “But I’ve learned the past few days that people sure get attached to old fire trucks.”

The trucks were part of the collection of the late trash king Ron Deffenbaugh, who kept them in a 40,000-square-foot garage at his swanky mansion in western Shawnee. The trucks sat neatly lined on the polished floor, along with Corvettes and luxury cars.

Now the trucks — six left — sit outside in grass and gravel on U.S. 40, catty-corner from the Tool Shed Lounge.

Chris Exposito, owner of Wholesale Car Outlet Sales, 14901 East U.S. 40, said he bought 52 vehicles at the Deffenbaugh auction. Ask him why the nine fire trucks, and the answer comes quick and with a chuckle.

“‘Cause I knew I could make money on them,” he said. “If he’d had more, I’d bought them, too. Old fire trucks are fairly easy to sell.”

People restore them. They use the trucks for yard decoration or drive them in parades. One buyer said he would use his for barbecuing.

These are old, but they’ll run.

“A little gas and a hot battery, they’ll fire,” Exposito said. “Some of them only have 10,000 miles.”

The best story Hampton heard might be the one about a little boy in Bland, a town of about 500 southeast of Jefferson City.

Jeffrey Pierce loved fire trucks.

Years ago, when he was 4 or so, he lived next door to the town’s fire station, and occasionally managed to go over and climb into a big, white pumper truck. He’d grab the wheel and imagine racing to fires. And he often found bubblegum in the cab, left over from parades where firefighters would toss it to the kids.

That white truck was his favorite, and the day it left town, old and worn out, Jeffrey watched it go.

Now jump ahead 25 years. Someone recently sent Pierce, now an assistant fire chief in Bland, a link to the Craigslist ad. Pierce leaned close. It was like seeing a dog that had run away from home years before.

A day or so later a friend told him: “Let’s go get that fire truck.”

Pierce called and struck a deal — asking price was $5,000. Because of his work schedule and the long drive, he knew they’d get there late at night. Hampton said he’d stick around. Pierce and his friend took off for KC in an old 3/4-ton van and pulled into the lot at Wholesale Cars at midnight.

There it sat: the Bland Fire Department’s old white No. 2 pumper. A 1946 Chevrolet.

Pierce and his buddy loaded it on a car dolly and made it back to Bland about the time the sun came up.

He’s happy to have the old truck back home.

His 2-year-old son’s happy, too. Now he’s the one who climbs up and grabs the steering wheel.

But where’s the gum?

This story was originally published June 7, 2015 at 9:09 PM with the headline "Old fire trucks on a used-car lot on U.S. 40 stoke memories."