I well remember that ex-military Ford Blitz 4x4 trucks were still serving in many volunteer bushfire brigades when I joined our local Ku-Ring-Gai brigade in Sydney in the 1970s. Ours was of course powered by the original flathead V8 and it was much loved by all brigade members until reluctantly retired from service. Many of those old fire-fighting Fords (and Chevrolet versions too) have since been lovingly restored by their brigades for display purposes.