Fire Truck FAQs
Do we use the fire truck for private parties and/or events?
Our fire truck can be frequently seen at community events. For a calendar of events where our fire truck may be seen, click here. However, as a general liability rule, we do not allow use of the fire truck for private events. We recommend going to Joe’s website at www.musiconfire.us. He has a ladder truck he specifically uses for kids parties and events. You can also find him by calling 305.803.3743.
What questions do people most frequently ask you about the 1975 Mack Fire Truck?
We get a lot of questions about the fire truck especially from fire fighters. These is some of the information they typically ask about:
- 1975 Mack cab, chassis and engine. Engine is diesel with six in-line cylinders.
- Pierce Fire Apparatus.
- 75 foot Telesquirt ladder with four outriggers. Vertical to 90○, rotates 360 and a nozzle at the end that is fed by two 3” water pipeways.
- 5,000 watt onboard Generator.
- Two 1,000 watt telescopic scene lights which extends 10’ high and rotates 360○.
- 300 gallon onboard water tank.
- Waterous two stage 1,250 gallon per minute pump. Pump is not operational and was replaced with a smaller electric pump which produces enough pressure to supply an onboard pressure cleaner which can be used to clean bird nests and droppings or the voids left by removed bee hives.
- Originally owned by Allingtown Fire Department in Westhaven, CT. Bought for approx $250,000 in 1975 and then sold to the Forrest Hill Volunteer FD from Hawley, PA in 2005 for approx $50,000.
- Bought by our company in 2009 for $5,600 with 90,000 miles.
- 30 gallon capacity Diesel tank. City MPG 4, Highway MPG 7. Range is approximately 200 miles.
- Federal Q Siren and Air Horns and all emergency lights work. The emergency lights that were red where changed to yellow or white.
Rolie, tell us your story of how the Fire Truck came to be known as Big Bee?
The idea for the fire truck did not start as an idea for a fire truck. Like most great ideas, it came as an epiphany while looking for something else. Early 2009 we noticed a need to own a vehicle with a lifting platform that would give us the ability to respond to an emergency bee removal in a high place without waiting for the rental of a lift.
Our search was on for a retired utility truck with a 40 to 50 foot telescoping boom; much like the ones used by FPL, AT&T and Comcast. We could not find one in decent shape for less than our budget price. Then one day while looking at a bucket truck in Hialeah, I saw three fire trucks lined up for sale just past the area where I was looking at the bucket truck. You have to know me to understand that ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved fire trucks and it would be a dream come true to actually drive one.
Having said that, one of the fire trucks for sale that day was a “hook and ladder.” I thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool to have a ladder truck as our emergency response lifting platform.” So, just for fun, I asked the salesman how much they wanted for the ladder truck, thinking it was in the $50 to $80 thousand range. He said that with the economy like it is, no one is coming from Latin America to buy fire trucks so he was going to scrap the truck for $7,000. I could own this truck for $7,000. All of a sudden, the dream became real. I COULD OWN A FIRE TRUCK AND MAKE MONEY WITH IT!!! This was the epiphany. This particular truck was out of service for several years and needed a lot of work. But, it spawned the idea, and for that I am eternally grateful to that used truck salesman in Hialeah.
The next step was to look on eBay and that night I spent over an hour with Chief Wayne from Forest Hill Volunteer Fire Department in PA. Chief Wayne had a truck that was in service until just nine months ago. It was replaced because the pump used to put out fires was broken and no longer reliable. Good news for me, we don’t put out fires… It had a $5,000 reserve (the scrap value in PA) and I picked it up for $5,600 in the last five seconds of the auction.
The next day I was making plans to fly to PA and drive the truck down. It was a one week once in a life adventure. I met the crew at Forest Hill Volunterr Fire Department and spent two days with them learning all about the truck. Then spent the next three days driving it down.
Forest Hill is called this for a reason… For the first hour of the trip, I was going up, down or turning. I will never complain about Florida being flat and straight again. I’ll bet if you look at the steering wheel hard enough, you will find my finger prints engraved into it as I was navigating the first, white knuckle part of the trip home.
For the next three months we made several modifications and updates. Special thanks to our friends Frank, Jeo, Larry and Craig at Nextran Truck Center for their expertise and memory. Larry and Craig especially for their memory. These old timers used to repair Mack trucks back during the days of the Cold War.
Finally, we took the truck to Miami Balloons and Signs where our creativity met theirs and we came up with the design for the wrap and all our marketing.
