What some people will consider a major, two-wheeled attraction will roll into western Iowa this fall. Rich Smith, a firefighter in Atlantic, says a renowned super-cycle valued at a half-million dollars will appear during the annual Iowa Firefighter’s Convention there in September.
Smith says after months of negotiations, an agreement has been reached with the Orange County Choppers to bring the “Fire Bike” to town. The chopper-style motorcycle was built as a tribute to the 343 New York firefighters who were killed during the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001.
The motorcycle was featured on the The Discovery Channel’s “American Chopper” and was hand-crafted using custom-made parts to look like firefighting equipment, such as a Scott respirator bottle for the chopper’s oil sump, an aluminum miniature fire hydrant for a carburetor and much more. The fuel tank, made to resemble the cab of a fire truck, is topped-off by a bolt that was recovered from the ashes of the World Trade Center.
Smith says the reason they’ve worked so hard to bring the machine to town, is to promote the community, to help pay for convention expenses in bringing firefighters to town, and to attract anyone within a 300-to-400-mile radius. Smith says when fellow firefighters were told about the chopper during a meeting a couple of weeks ago in Mason City, the response was phenomenal. He says “everybody was just pleased, tickled and very positive…they can’t wait to come and see the bike.”
Smith says the bike has not been in the Midwest before, other than Sturgis. The chopper will be on display September 8th and 9th in Atlantic and will be shipped back to New York in time for ceremonies marking the 5th anniversary of the nine-11 attacks. For more information, surf to www.atlanticfire.com.