The 1932 Buick Rag Top was stolen and used in a bank robbery that year. Afterward, the robbers set the car on fire.

The City of Arkansas City purchased the burned-out car from the insurance company in early 1932.

The restoration work of the burned vehicle was completed by local firefighters. The back section of the car was replaced with the bed of a 1909 Kissle, the first motorized fire truck in Arkansas City.

Prior to the Kissle, horse-drawn wagons were used to fight fires in Ark City.

The truck was fitted with a 500-gallon-per-minute pump and 100-gallon water tank, and was equipped to carry 900 feet of 2 1/2-inch hose and ladders.

The 1932 Buick fire truck served the City of Arkansas City for 16 years before it was sold in the early 1950s. But a telephone call to the Ark City fire chief in 1991 informed the department not only of the location of the old truck, but that it also was for sale.

The old truck was purchased with donations from area businesses and citizens for $2,250. It was returned back to Arkansas City on a flatbed trailer in very poor condition and in several pieces.

Once again, the 1932 Buick was restored by the firefighters of the Arkansas City Fire-EMS Department, a process that took several years, with the help of passionate citizens such as Snell.