Prattville Captain Restores 1946 Chevrolet Fire Truck, Plans Public Appearance

Capt. Gage Oakes of the Prattville Fire Department spent several weeks restoring the department’s historic 1946 Chevrolet fire truck and announced plans to bring the restored vehicle to the public later in March 2026, according to a report covering the project. The restoration effort left the truck operational again, and the department announced a public appearance window for later in March 2026; the report’s account of the work is truncated after “The restoration took place during the,” leaving some timeline details incomplete.

A local social-media post praised the effort, stating, “Big shout to Captain Oates on getting our beautiful 1946 Chevrolet fire truck up and running again! She might not be fully parade ready yet, but we loved” — a fragment of the Instagram caption provided by Prattville accounts. A separate local fragment uses a slightly different spelling: “Capt. Gage Oates recently brought the Prattville Fire Department's historic 1946 Chevrolet fire truck back to life after spending the past” — that Elmoreautauganews fragment is also truncated. The collected sources show two spellings of the captain’s last name (Oakes and Oates); that discrepancy remains unresolved in available material.

Available details on the scope of work are limited to the report’s “several weeks” timeframe and the Instagram indication that the truck is “up and running again.” The original report and social post do not specify where the work took place, whether it was completed at a Prattville station or at an outside shop, or which specific mechanical or cosmetic tasks were performed; the Elmoreautauganews fragment likewise truncates the description of the timeframe. Costs, funding sources, and whether other personnel assisted Capt. Gage have not been specified in the material provided.

For context on comparable restorations, a separate restoration company page documents a distinct 1946 Chevrolet fire truck project for the Town of Superior, Colorado. Mile High Classics’ project page explicitly states the company “re-wired the truck and completed the paint job in a three month time period in order to meet the parade deadline” for Superior’s Fourth of July parade, and identifies services including Mechanical, Interiors, and Paint and Body. That Mile High Classics project is clearly labeled as a different vehicle and jurisdiction and does not claim involvement with Prattville’s truck.

The public-appearance plan for Prattville’s truck is described only as occurring “later in March 2026” in the available report; no exact date, time, location, or parade/event assignment is given. With today’s date March 7, 2026, and an event date noted as March 6, 2026 in the reporting metadata, the department’s exact schedule and remaining work to reach “parade ready” status remain outstanding items to confirm with Prattville Fire Department officials and Capt. Gage (Oakes/Oates). The restored 1946 Chevrolet remains a locally owned Prattville Fire Department vehicle and, per available social-media text, is now operational though possibly not yet ready for full parade duty.