Gift lifts bid to bring Bend’s first fire truck home

Earlier this month, the Bend Fire Historical Society announced plans for a golf scramble tournament to be held at Broken Top Club on June 28. The purpose of this fundraiser is to enable us to buy back Bend’s very first motorized fire engine, a 1919 American-LaFrance currently owned by the Poulsbo (Washington) Fire Department.

“In an amazing display of community spirit, local business owner (Lava Lanes) Les Mombert has made a $5,000 cash donation toward purchasing Engine 1,” said Cindy Kettering of the Bend Firefighters Foundation.

“Thanks to Mr. Mombert’s generosity, we are now within just a few thousand dollars of the funds needed to bring Engine 1 home,” she said Friday. “Many, many thanks to Mr. Mombert and all who have purchased golf tickets or made a donation to the Bend Fire Historical Society.

“If we can raise the remaining funds within the next week, Engine 1 will come home in time to be driven in the 4 th of July parade through downtown Bend,” Kettering said.