1921 Fire Engine, Donated to Kansas Museum, a Real Belle

The Kansas Firefighters Museum recently received a donation of an antique fire truck -- a 1921 American LaFrance -- that members say is going to be a showpiece once it's restored.

But the museum, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the history of fire departments, needs money to continue the truck's restoration, which started six months ago.

The museum recently began circulating letters to supporters appealing for donations.

Merv Criser, who is heading the project, says it'll take about $20,000 to fully restore the truck.

"It'll be a showpiece," he said. "This '21 is going to be like brand new or better."

The Garden City Fire Department donated the truck to the museum last year.

Garden City Fire Chief Allen Shelton said the truck had been in storage for many years and the city had considered selling it. But when someone from the museum found out that the truck was going to be sold, museum officials approached him about donating it.

Shelton and other city officials agreed that it was better to donate it to a Kansas museum than to sell it and risk it going out of the state.

"That way, the people of Kansas would have a chance to see it," Shelton said.

B.K. Owens, the museum's vice president, said it is the museum's sixth antique vehicle, although only four of them are at the museum, 1300 S. Broadway, due to a lack of space.

Owens said he is not certain where the Garden City truck would be stored. He said the museum would like to expand its building, a renovated firehouse at Lincoln Park. But there are no official plans.

"We don't have anything nailed down," he said.

In the meantime, museum members say they will continue to work on the Garden City truck with available museum funds.

The money they spend on the truck is a worthwhile investment for the museum and the city, Owens and Criser said. They called it a piece of history.

"This fire truck is very much like the first fire truck that ran out of that (the museum) firehouse," Owens said.

Criser, who has a background in restoring antique vehicles, said he hopes the project can be complete by this summer. Criser and several others have dismantled the truck in order to rebuild, clean, polish and paint its parts. Some parts -- such as the tires -- had to be replaced.

"It's a major, major job," Criser said, "but as time goes on, it's going to be beautiful."