My name is J. Fred Ayars, and I'm trying to save an antique fire truck! Many of you know I am the Fire Chief in Salem NJ, and many of you also know I've spent 11 years working with a dedicated group of volunteers to rescue an old firehouse and turn it into a fire museum. See the Salem Fire Museum facebookpage for the amazing results. But now I have a new project, after searching for over 5 years I finally located one of Salem's former firetrucks in a field in Missouri. I bought this truck and brought her home in hopes of restoring it to its former glory. The truck is a 1940 American LaFrance pumper that served the Washington Fire Company #3 of the Salem City Fire Department. It served until 1965, and made it's way from Salem, served in Georgia and Missouri before retiring into a pumpkin patch in Westboro Missouri. Her caretakers  have been good to her, but age and weather have taken its toll. I would like to restore the truck for use as a firemans funeral caisson, and as a source of pride and ownership in our fire department and our community. To do so will take considerable work, and to be honest I just cannot afford it on my own. If  this project is something that you consider worthy, please consider a donation. If not, thank you for your time ...