These days, Jeep vehicles are more known for splashing through water, not spraying it out of hoses at fires.
It hasn’t always been that way, though. Especially in Ohio, home to two particularly cool old-school Jeep fire trucks. The Richfield Township Fire Department used a Willys to pull a 500-gallon water trailer to use in fighting building, brush, and field fires from 1947 until 2007. Despite its age, it’s still in good health. Captain Ed Fitzgerald said, “Very little maintenance has to be done on it to keep it running. We have a couple guys with the department who are good mechanics. All they had to do recently was put some spark plugs in and make sure the carburetor was adjusted.”
Over at the Toledo Firefighters Museum, there’s an FC-based 1960 Jeep fire truck with a front-mounted 500-gallon pump, a 200-gallon water tank, a 35-foot ladder, and, of course, plenty of hose to douse raging flames. It’s a little harder to keep running, but we’re sure the firefighters who work on it find it worth the time and hassle.
If you’re going to the Toledo Jeep Fest in Ohio this weekend, you’ll be able to see the Toledo Firefighters Museum’s labor of love and the Willys fire truck there. How could you not see them?
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
