In the spring of 1992, the City of North Tonawanda looked at its aging fire trucks and decided they needed a new one. On May 19th, 1992, after receiving bids from fire apparatus manufacturers around the country, NT City council decided to award the bid for a new Engine to Ferrara Firefighting Apparatus inc. 

In April of 1993, I was delivered to the City of North Tonawanda, and was placed into service as Engine 6, stationed out of the Gratwick Hose firehouse on Ward Rd.

Jumping ahead to the mid 2000’s, I was the busiest fire truck in the city, and I ran the most calls as Engine 6. At that time, my friend, Engine 4, was starting to get old, and was having a lot of breakdowns. The city council decided we needed another new firetruck, but they were concerned about me, as I was already so busy that I might start to get tired and break down too. So, the city purchased a new firetruck to be the new Engine 6, and I was moved to the Vandervoort St Firehouse, where I became Engine 4. My predecessor was also a Ferrara Firetruck, and got promoted to a reserve Engine. I stayed as the Primary Engine 4 until April of 2016 when the city decided to buy a new firetruck to replace me, and I got promoted to reserve status too.

During my time as Engine 4, one of my drivers was Firefighter Justin. He always took good care of me, and he worked with me 4 days a week, every week from 2005, all the way up until I got promoted to Reserve. He was my favorite partner to work with! (shhhhh! don’t tell the others!)

On the morning of September 15th, 2025, I had been sold in an auction. I didn’t know where I was going, or what my future held, but I was excited to see what happened next. A few hours later, the person that bought me showed up to take me home, and guess who it was? It was my favorite partner’s son, Caleb!!! I remembered him playing around on me when he was little, and now he’s all grown up and I get to go home with him! I spend most of my time now in storage, where Caleb is fixing me up and making me look nice and spiffy again. We have lots of fun going to parades, parties & just going out for lunch together when he does take me out.

As for my name, Harley, there’s a reason for that name. My favorite partner, Justin, always wanted a Harley Motorcycle. He had one for many years, and I loved it when he'd bring it to work! It was really cool to see him arrive with a smile on his face after going for a ride. I wanted to honor him because he was so good to me. So, after some discussion, me and Caleb decided my new name is Harley, and I wear it proudly!

Thanks for listening to my story! It was great to speak with you!