Engine 1/2 was initially designed by Dave Welch of Wheat Ridge, Colorado who created it for his nephew Ricky Marquez who was born with Cerebral Palsy. Ricky is a quadriplegic and has been in a wheelchair since he was 3. Ricky was always obsessed with trucks; buses, mail trucks, trains, police cars, and fire trucks. When Halloween came around, the idea was to build the costume around Ricky's chair. It began using a refrigerator box and rubber-bands and Ricky's first costume was a bus. Ricky's Uncle Dave thought maybe we can do better - Dave who is a master fabricator and works for Camping World refurbishing and restoring damaged RVs.
Throughout the years Ricky had the most amazing Halloween costumes. As Ricky matured and outgrew wearing the costumes and Engine 1/2 was the last of these fabulous costumes. Ricky and Uncle Dave decided to donate Engine 1/2 to South Metro Fire Rescue . who now uses it for the community outreach. Engine 1/2 is a huge hit in parades too!
South Metro Fire has a Youtube Channel and each week highlights different areas and topics call Fleet Friday.
You can also follow the Adventures of Engine 1/2 at Facebook.com/southmetrosafetyfoundation
You can also visit the South Metro Safety Foundation at www.southmetrofoundation.org
Photo Credit: Dave Welch