It’s a given: at some point in their lives, a kid wants to be a firefighter. They want to ride on the trucks, put out the flames, and to be the hero. Certainly you remember that point of your life, right? The fire house where everyone lived, the Dalmatian puppy named Spot, the big red ladder truck and sliding down the firepole to rush out to the scene of a raging infero, ready to save someone’s day. I can’t lie, I wanted to be a firefighter when I was a kid. As I got older, however, priorities shifted and the land of massive water cannons and bulky fire suits disappeared from view. Things changed, life moved on, and soon the red trucks with the gold leaf lettering, sirens and ladders had gone to the back of my mind.
Nothing will bring that dream back to the front of the imagination quite like a killer fire truck, though. While I always pictured an American LaFrance or Crown-based fire pumper as the vehicle of choice, you have to admit that this 1974 Chevrolet K30 would be that much cooler to use as the duty rig. Why a one-ton stepside pickup? This is a brush truck…meaning that it’s supposed to be smaller and more nimble than a large pumper, off-road capable, and ready at a moment’s notice in the event of a small brush fire or to be a support vehicle. For example:
“THIS IS A 4×4 BRUSH OR ATTACK FIRE TRUCK. IT’S USED TO GET TO THE FIRES IN AREAS OF ROUGH TERRAIN THAT THE LARGER TRUCKS CAN’T GET TO. THIS ONE HAS AN INTERESTING FEATURE, A SYSTEM OF DOWN SPOUTS ALONG THE UNDERCARRIAGE ALLOW YOU TO SATURATE GROUND YOU’RE DRIVING OVER TO PUT OUT EMBERS/SMALL FLAMES OR TO WET THE GROUND TO PREVENT A FIRE FROM SPREADING. “ 
Now, you could take all of that kit off and you’d still end up with a clean 454/4-speed stepside Chevy that looks like it’s been brought forward in time, but why do that? Take the kids to school in this truck once or twice. Be brave enough to join your local volunteer department and use this as a parade vehicle. Park it on the lawn for the Christmas season, covered in lights. Whatever the case, this Chevrolet has plenty of life left in it, even as a working rig.
My uncle and cousin would love this.