WORLAND — Bruce Nielson’s retirement has been dedicated to the Worland Fire Protection District #1 and the city’s volunteer fire department.
The former engineer in the oil patch, and then for an electric utility, joined the department 11 years ago. Since then, he's pursued training that now qualifies him as a fire fighter II, training officer, hazmat tech and fire instructor.
His latest assignment from Fire Chief Chris Kocher bypassed those qualifications and took him back to understanding he gained over the years by transforming vintage vehicles into gleaming running machines.
“This would be my ninth project,” Nielson said.
A 1942 Seagraves 65-foot fire department ladder truck with a V-12 engine, two carburetors and a four-speed double-clutch transmission now shines with polished brass, chrome and a new paint job thanks to four city businesses, a lot of individual donations, and fire department support.
Nielson estimates he personally has about 250 hours into the effort.
“I talked with Bruce to see if he’d be willing to take on the project as coordinator,” Kocher said. “Within a couple of days he came back to me with a plan.
"He’s got a ton of time and effort into this personally and then a lot of collaboration from different folks.”
The 84-year-old machine was originally bought by the Worland department in the 1970s from a Casper company.
Kocher said the agency was looking at the size of the some of the buildings in its service area and trying to better its Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating that measures how well a fire department can protect a community.
Department history shows the truck has responded to three calls over the years, including a grocery store blaze and a bar fire. The third run was not clear.
Worland firefighter spent 250 hours of his own time a had collaboration from four businesses in town and other firefighters to see the completion of the 1942 ladder truck restoration. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
The truck will be used for fire safety, recruiting, and special events such as the upcoming 9/11 remembrance. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
The front of the 1942 ladder truck. The red color is the same hue that would have been on the truck in 1942. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
A pedal on the floor is used to operate the truck’s siren. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
The rear of the 65-foot ladder with the hose connection at the top. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
An original rescue net that was with the truck requires 12 firefighters to hold it to same those jumping to safety. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily)
Last Call
Kocher said the need to call for mutual aid during the bar fire precipitated efforts to get a newer and longer 75-foot ladder truck in 1985 that served the community until 2020.
When the Seagraves failed a hydraulics certification for its ladder, it ended up in cold storage for two decades.
Fundraisers for its restoration began around 2010. Neither the fire district nor the volunteer department contributed to the project from their budgets.
Kocher said several families who had lost loved one dedicated memorials to the project.
Nielson said when his wife, Claudia, died from cancer in February 2024, she designated any memorial contributions to the fire department. A month later, Kocher asked him to look into leading the fire truck’s restoration.
“I spent four months researching what needed to be done,” Nielson said. “I found four businesses that wanted to be part of the project.”
His inventory of the truck found that all brass items were painted over, the original wood work in the ladder compartment was grayed, and the truck “needed painting really, really bad.”
Vega Brothers in Worland gave the department a quote for a paint job and sandblasted the vehicle to bare metal before repainting it with the correct red hue that would have been available in 1942.
Nielson said he researched the true color of the truck and came up with paint numbers.
S&H Glass put in a new windshield and Signs of Sutherland did all the lettering work and graphics. Old Dog Upholstery redid the two seats in the uncovered cab.
Nielson removed all the lights, siren, and outside attachments before the paint job.
The front of the 1942 truck before restoration. (Bruce Nielson) 
A list of names of the department’s retired firefighters has been painted on both sides of the truck. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
The passenger-side pillar at the back of the truck gave firefighters quick knowledge of the length of various ladders and extensions. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
The fire department put the logos of the businesses who helped with the restoration on the truck. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
Bruce Nielson found a couple of old water fire extinguishers and refurbished them for the truck. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
A old pickax found at the fire department and restored to put on the truck. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily)
Brass Restored
“It turned out there was a lot of brass and a lot of shiny stuff that didn’t shine,” he said. “All the lights were corroded really bad.”
Although he has a lot of experience in restoring old vehicles, he said he learned new skills. One was how to remove paint from metal he intended to polish and the other was polishing brass after he removed paint.
Nielson restored two old water fire extinguishers that the department had in storage to put on the truck as well as two old axes that fit into slots on the side. He removed all the wood that makes up the deck of the 65-foot ladder bay and put it through a planer.
A pike pole he found on the truck was sanded and restored.
The original wooden ladders that include a 10-foot ladder and then 16, 25, 28, and two 35-foot extension ladders all were redone with help from a school shop class.
Fire district mechanic Troy Nelsen worked on the engine to get it purring.
“Once it starts, it just sits here and doesn’t move, doesn’t shake,” Nielson said. “It is balanced well.”
In a back compartment on the passenger side, Nielson found an original safety net with a bull's-eye in the center that 12 firefighters would hold and a fire victim could leap into. It remains stored there.
Graphics honoring 38 retired department firefighters have been added to the side of the truck.
The Seagrave logo on the 1942 truck. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
Bruce Nielson holds a pike pole that he restored. He found it on the truck. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
A look down the ladder of the truck. It was used on three calls in Worland before being retired. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
The wooden hose bed underneath the ladder was taken out and planed and restored by Bruce Nielson. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
The dashboard of the 1942 truck has switches for all the various lights and a master power switch that needs to be on before the truck can be started using two ignition choke-like levers and a starter switch on the other side of the steering column. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
The V-12 Seagrave engine has 24 spark plugs, two carburetors and two distributors. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily)
Recruiting Tool
Kocher said now that the truck is restored, the department plans to use it for fire-safety education, as a recruiting tool, and for ceremonial purposes.
“It gives us the opportunity to talk about volunteerism in our community and recruitment,” he said. “Then it gets us an opportunity to talk to people about fire education and fire safety.”
The department of 23 firefighters is always looking for new members, Kocher said.
Because of the lack of certification for the big truck’s hydraulics, the ladder will never be raised, Kocher said.
“We don’t want to risk someone’s safety,” he said.
The truck’s debut this summer included the Washakie County Fair Parade in July. Plans are in place for it to be parked outside Big Horn Federal Savings Bank for the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
Nielson’s ninth restoration project contrasts with one his personal favorites, which involved a Dodge Power Wagon one year older than the fire truck.
“We bought it at an auction in Greybull for $50,” he said. “The rancher used it to haul horses and it had a horse rack on it. We made sure it ran well and had a lot of fun in the bad lands. I painted it yellow and tiger-striped it.
"A guy came along and offered me a whole bunch of money, so I sold it.”
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
