Sand Springs Body Shop Helps Preserve 1948 Hominy Fire Truck

A Sand Springs business is helping preserve a part of history in Hominy.

A 1948 Mack Fire Truck was the first fire truck purchased by the Hominy Fire Department, 72 years ago.

It needs some costly repairs, but a Sand Springs body shop is offering to restore the truck for less, to make sure it lives on for many more years.

The truck has been a centerpiece in the town of Hominy for decades.

"It had three miles on it when it was delivered on the train,” says Coby Surritte with the Hominy Fire Department. "All three of my children have ridden on this truck in parades. I've got pictures of me as a child."

The truck was last used to fight a fire in 1992, but now it serves a new purpose.

The Hominy Fire Department had the idea to fix it up and offer it to other departments to take fallen firefighters on their last ride.

It’s a tough job that would cost a lot of money but thankfully a Sand Springs Body Shop jumped in to help, for next to nothing.

"Basically we are going to strip it down. Fix all of the body damage on it, then we are going to prime it, then we will block it, then we will get it ready for paint,” says Dustin Harris who owns Sand Springs Collision Repair.

He says when he heard what Hominy wanted to do, helping out was an easy call to action.

"It's old, it's fun,” says Harris. “It means everything to do something for them because they fight fires and do a lot of stuff for us. It's our turn to give back to them."

Surritte says this means more than just having a shiny truck.

"This is the city's truck, the public owns this truck. we don't own this truck,” says Harris “They purchased this truck in 1948 and it is our job to maintain this truck."

Harris says tells me this will take about four weeks to finish painting the truck, then it will be ready to head back to Hominy.