Engine 11 back in action

An old firetruck has come back to life with a new mission.

Engine 11, a 1961 Mack C-85 pumper, retired in 1991 after three decades of service in Charleston.

It was recommissioned Sunday afternoon -- gleaming with fresh paint and fully reupholstered -- not to fight fires directly but to support those who do.

Retired Charleston Fire Capt. Daniel Schulken looked over the old firetruck with mixed feelings. He drove it on many occasions and painted the gold lettering on the sides during the restoration.

"It's hard to drive," he said. "It's a lot of memories, a lot of hard work."

The truck doesn't have power steering, and the turning radius is wide. Some men had to stand up and put their weight into it to turn the wheel going around corners, he said.

Schulken's most memorable experience was taking the truck to a house fire on Anita Drive in West Ashley in the late 1970s or early 1980s. The house was blown off its foundation when a painter opened a door and lit a cigarette. Schulken was hit in the face with a live power line. He suffered burns, but his thick-soled boots saved him.

The gold lettering says "A tribute to our firefighters, Past, Present & Future."

The restoration effort was accomplished entirely with volunteer labor and donated money.

"Many individuals, groups, businesses and organizations contributed their time and money to bring the finished product to life as an enduring symbol of their support for our firefighters," Charleston Fire Department Public Information Officer Mark Ruppel said before the ceremony. "No public funds were spent on this project."

Several dozen firefighters, friends and families gathered outside the Charleston Firefighter Support Team offices in West Ashley on Sunday to mark the occasion. Many of those who attended were relatives of the nine firefighters who died in the Sofa Super Store fire on June 18, 2007.

Holly Gildea, fallen firefighter Mike Benke's daughter, watched her 2-year-old daughter Julieanne climb on the truck.

"I just think it's a great tribute to everybody," she said.

The vision for the restoration came in December 2007, when the department was borrowing an old truck from the North Charleston and American LaFrance Fire Museum and Educational Center for the Christmas parade, support team leader Gerald Mishoe said. He heard that Stoney Blanton of Cottageville collected old firetrucks, visited him, and was delighted to see Engine 11 at the Maple Cane fire station near Givhans. They agreed on a price, and Mishoe started rounding up help for the restoration.

The president of Mack Trucks heard about the project and sent the famous bulldog icon to go on the dashboard, Mishoe said.

The firetruck will be kept at the station on Ashley Hall Plantation Road, and people can drop by to see it there, Mishoe said.

Reach Dave Munday at 937-5553 or dmunday@postandcourier.com.