A Piece of Campbell History Returns to Life

"I was in the position to ask nine guys to give up one year of their lives, on their own time, to be part of this program," says Rick Kincaid, one of the first certified Campbell fire department paramedics. "It was a huge sacrifice and was 100 percent to provide better service to the citizens of Campbell. Every single one of those guys said yes, without hesitation. This vehicle represents those guys."

Kincaid, along with George Renshaw, Alan Lowder, Ray Rivero, Mike Johnson, Fred Van Hook, Fred Bailey and Garry Salmon made up Campbell's first team of paramedics. Their vehicle was Rescue 25.

It's been three years since the Campbell City Council approved the project to restore this humble vehicle that carried with it a piece of local history.

On Sept. 2009, the city council approved the restoration project of Rescue 25, a Campbell emergency vehicle that represented the first certified paramedics in Northern California.

The Friends of Rescue 25, along with community members, city employees and staff came together on Nov. 30 to witness the unveiling of the restored Rescue 25.

"This has been a long road but a fun project," say Nancy Yeager of Cupertino Body Shop.

Originally planned to take a year to restore, the organization hit some snags when rust was found and parts took longer to track down.

Friends of Rescue 25 to restore the 1974 Chevrolet pickup.

Once the funding was available, the organization chose two local businesses to help repair and restore the truck:

• Road Sport
• Cupertino Body Shop

Cupertino Body Shop and Road Sport kicked off the first phase of the project in August 2011.

"This is my home," says Clint Ralls, owner of Road Sport. "We wanted to bring something to the party."

The local businessman first got involved with the project with a donation and then offered his labor and time.

The car was turned on at about 12:30 a.m. and when it did, Ralls says the effect was powerful.

"All of us looked at each other and got goosebumps," he says. "It just breathed back to life. It's been a love affair for all of us. There's a piece of each of us in this car now."

Rock Bottom Brewery also played an important role in the restoration project with its fundraising efforts.

"Rock Bottom was instrumental in raising money for us," says Al Lowder, speaker at the Nov. 30 event. "Thank goodness for all the firefighters guzzling that Fire Chief Ale!"

Rescue 25 will be kept by the Campbell Historical Museum to be used in community events such as parades and festivals as well as an educational tool.

The restored Rescue 25 truck will be on display the night of the next Campbell City Council meeting, Dec. 4 from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

The truck will then move to Sonoma Chicken Coop at 8:00 p.m. and will be there until 10:00 p.m. A no-host get-together will take place during that time with food, drinks and conversations with all involved as well as fire photos from the 1970s and fire equipment on display.