An iconic part of Penrith was returned to its spot along Castlereagh Road on Monday after it disappeared from public view.
The fire engine out the front of the Museum of Fire was recently taken down off its pole to undergo a facelift.
Musuem of Fire Chief Executive Officer, Belinda McMartin said the real 1951 Dennis fire engine was in dire need of refurbishment.
“The truck came to the museum in 1983 before the museum was even in Penrith but it has been 14 years since the Dennis had been taken down and worked on,” Ms McMartin said.
“We all knew it was looking sad but the thought of having to get up there or bring it down was daunting, but with less cars on the road during lockdown it looked worse so we ended up biting the bullet.”
Taking two weeks to repair, Ms McMartin said it has been an amazing community effort to restore it.
“It ended up being easier and less expensive than we thought as Debner Cranes donated their time and services,” she said.
“Our fantastic volunteers did all the other work which we are thankful for, and a local company Excite Signs did the detail work like the gold lettering on the vehicle.”
Ms McMartin said she hopes the makeover will attract more families and people interested in history to see the range of displays the museum offers.
“We have done a lot of work inside the museum and it is looking much more modern so we needed to make the outside match,” she said.
“Now it is nice and bright and shiny hopefully people see it is a museum where lots of interesting stuff is happening rather than just an old relic that is sitting there forgotten about.”
To find out more about Australia’s leading fire museum, visit www.museumoffire.net.
