Vintage Urbanna fire truck to lead Fireman’s Parade

November 1, 2023

The emergency lights shine again on Urbanna’s first fire truck. (Photo by Tom Chillemi)

A survivor is revived

More than two years ago, John Page and Tom Chillemi put their minds together in the basement of the Urbanna firehouse, where “Truck Number 1” had sat idle for 30 years.

It was the first fire truck in Middlesex County and was delivered in 1941 to the Middlesex Volunteer Fire Department (MVFD), which was founded in 1940 in Urbanna.

Its last public outing had been for the 50th Anniversary celebration of the MVFD in 1990. The engine had been rebuilt about that time, said Page, adding that when Truck Number 1 stopped running about 30 years ago, it was stored in the firehouse basement.

Well, as of Aug. 2, 2023, at 7:12 p.m. it is no longer underground. Truck Number 1 has been revived and will headline the Fireman’s Parade during the Urbanna Oyster Festival on Friday, Nov. 3. The main parade starts at 7 p.m., however, this antique truck, with Chillemi at the wheel, will make a solo run on the parade route at 6:50 p.m. in a tribute to all first responders. Once it’s back at the Urbanna firehouse, the main parade begins with other fire and rescue units taking to the streets. Make sure you’re there early to hear the original 82-year-old siren. It’s a blast from the past!

It also will be in Saturday’s parade at 2 p.m.

Wait a minute

Page was a longtime member of the MVFD and knew the truck’s history and knew the engine had been rebuilt in the early 1990s. Chillemi, a Southside Sentinel reporter, knew about the truck and asked Page to help diagnose what it needed.

The 1941 Ford has a flathead V-8 engine. The distributor is on the end of the crankshaft, right behind the radiator. To service the distributor, it must be removed from the engine. Chillemi was ready to stop when he saw the “helmet” distributor, so named because it looks like a diver’s helmet. “John (Page) told me that it wasn’t going to run unless we cleaned the points of the distributor,” Chillemi said. They persisted and removed the alien distributor to clean the points.

Then, with a small lawn mower gas tank hanging above the carburetor to feed it fuel, Page pushed the starter button. It rumbled to life! In about two hours, they had it running. What’s next?