The 1986 Pierce Arrow once answered calls down the streets of Mentor, Ohio. Thursday, a refurbished and repurposed apparatus took to the streets of Cleveland in the city’s 141st St. Patrick’s Day parade.
The rig was decommissioned in 2007, but students at Willoughby-Eastlake Technical Center have given it new life. They’ve spent the past 5 months transforming the truck into a teaching tool for a community service project.
“This means everything to us,” senior Logan Rohaley told the News-Herald. “We started on this project last October and we’ve been working on it ever since through the rain, cold and snow. I love this truck. I can’t stop staring at it.”
Phillip the Fire Truck has its own generator and water pump, exterior control panel and an onboard video screen on which a safety video will play during the parade. Eventually, the students will install a movie theater in the cab of the truck.
The truck has been entered in a national competition sponsored by SkillsUSA.
Read David Glasier’s full story in the News-Herald here and his story from October here.
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