Jason and Melissa Giszewski pose with their first fire truck, a 1995 Seagrave pumper. It was purchased via an online auction for $5,000. Photo by Rod King.

By ROD KING
Senior Life Allen County

As a kid growing up in the South Bend/Mishawaka area Jason Giszewski had a passion for fire trucks and vowed he would become a fireman. He made good on his vow and took it to the next level by becoming a fire truck collector.

During his junior year at Carroll High School he joined the Cedar Canyons Junior Volunteer Firefighter program. Cedar Canyons merged with the Grabill Fire Department to form Northeast Fire where he also volunteered. He currently works for the Southwest Fire District located near the airport and is a part-time firefighter with the Butler Fire Department.

His passion for fire trucks, as he said, “is a labor of love” that costs him more than it returns. He has two of them stored in a facility east of New Haven. His first purchase was a green 1995 Seagrave pumper he got from the Novi, Michigan Fire Department. “New it cost $195,000, but I got it at the end of its service for just $5,000 on an online auction site called govdeals.com. It had 80,000 miles on it and was in really good shape. All it needed was a little TLC.

“My other one is a ladder truck that was owned by the Flora, Indiana Fire Department. When new in 1963 it cost the Purdue University Fire Department $58,000. I paid $5,000 and it only had 12,000 miles on it! The day it was taken out of service, my wife, Melissa, and I drove down there and brought it home. That was a fun trip.

“Obtaining parts is more difficult as the trucks get older. Having a membership in the Society for the Preservation and Appreciation of Antique Fire Apparatus of America is a big help in locating people who have parts to trade or sell.”

Collecting fire trucks (he’s also part owner of a tiller truck) has spawned a couple of related side hobbies. One is collecting fire truck emblems and the other is collecting die-cast Code III Collectables in 1/64th and 1/32nd scale. “I have more than 500 emblems from truck manufacturers across the country. There used to be 400 companies making fire trucks. Now there are only about 100. My goal is to mount them all on the wall when I get my own storage facility.

“The fire trucks,” said Giszewski, “are more than just a hobby. It has been very educational for our sons, Jonathan, 12, who has his own set of tools, and Jacob, 7, who says he wants to be just like me. They’re learning a lot about engines and mechanics. My wife is very supportive and we take the trucks to festivals, car shows and parades around Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. It’s a fun family activity. Melissa sometimes drives the trucks.

“Being a firefighter today is more than just putting out house, business, field and car fires,” said Giszewski. “Eighty percent of the job involves EMS runs for elevator rescues, senior citizens who have fallen and a variety of work accidents. In addition, we are heavily involved in safety education.

“You know your hobby is all-consuming when you name your three boxers Segrave, Spartan and Maxim after fire truck manufacturers. We’re proud of what we do and try hard to keep it interesting for the younger generation.”