Bringing An 81-Year-Old 'Girl Back Home Where She Belongs'

EAST HAVEN, CT — Eighty-one years ago, the town bought two new Seagrave fire engines. In the 1960s, both were sold at auction after decades of service to East Haven.

"The whereabouts of these engines was lost in time," Joe Deko writes on GoFundMe.

That is until recently when one, Engine 4, was found in Texas.

Deko explained to Patch that Engine 1 served out of the Main Street firehouse and Engine 4 served out of the Bradford Manor fire station on George Street. He said, the "trucks served the town well and operated at countless fires over the next 30 years." Over the years, Deko said, they "changed hands a few times and the whereabouts of the trucks was unknown" until Engine 4 surfaced in Texas.

Turns out it's in "very good condition," the very in all caps on the appeal to "bring her back home."

Deko is Town Councilor for East Haven's 2nd district. He is also a career firefighter in Guilford.

"We now have an opportunity to bring it back to East Haven," Deko writes. "The only problem is that it's in Texas! We would love to get this truck back and get it road worthy for all to enjoy in parades and functions around town."

In an email to Patch, Deko explained that the truck owner contacted East Haven Fire Chief Matt Marcarelli via Facebook to see if there was any interest in the truck from any members of the department as he has to sell. Deko said Marcarelli reached out to him and, "I immediately thought that we need to figure out a way to get this truck back to East Haven where it belongs."

He spoke with Fire Commissioner Steve Delucia and they "started to brainstorm."

After agreeing the truck needs to come home, it was decided that ownership should be given to the East Haven Volunteer Firefighter’s Association.

This week, Deko will meet with the firefighters association and "hopefully convince" the group to accept the four-score year-old engine to ensure it "doesn’t leave the East Haven Fire Department family again."

"East Haven Fire Department family has a strong belief in preserving history and passing it along to the future generations," Deko wrote on GoFundMe.

The GoFundMe was created on Saturday with a goal of $10,000. Less than 24 hours in, by early Sunday, the campaign was well underway with more tha1 $1,200 pledged. Deko said it will cost $10,000 to buy the engine, have it shipped to East Haven and then have some mechanical work done "to get it road ready and preserved."

"We are looking for the support of our community to help get this truck back to town after about 50 years," Deko said.

Deko said people interested in more information on the plan or to find out other ways to donate should email him at Firefighter4177@me.com.

GoFundMe is a Patch partner.