The plywood is up, the roof is ready for shingling. The new Oak Bluffs fire station which will house the old 1929 Maxim fire truck, Engine No. 2, is far from finished, though, and work continues in haste. It won’t just be a garage, it will be a firefighters’ museum.

Donald Billings of Oak Bluffs, a retired member of the fire department, said this week funds to build the structure are trickling in. There seems to be no shortage of enthusiasm for building the new firehouse, Mr. Billing said, but there continues to be a struggle for financial contributions.

The total cost of the firehouse, paid for by donations, will be $35,000. They’ve raised $21,000.

Last summer, Mr. Billings and friends ran a fund-raising campaign to purchase and bring home the 1929 fire truck. The price was $10,000 and it was paid for through donations. Now efforts have shifted towards building its permanent home.

The new little fire station faces the older, metal Nelson W. Amaral Fire Station on Wing Road and the County Road intersection. Mr. Billings said the new station will look traditional, suitable for its intended role. One side of the interior of the one-room station will be home for the truck, while the other side will house an exhibition area.

William (Bill) D. Norton, is another of the four retired fire department captains involved in the project. He was also a deputy fire chief for the town. Mr. Norton said last summer fund-raising for the fire station and the fire truck was kept low key so as not to diminish contributions to the Oak Bluffs Firemen’s Civic Association and their annual August fireworks display. Mr. Norton said his committee has tried to be sensitive to the economy, though the project comes at a tough time.

Support from the firemen themselves has been generous. Both Mr. Billings and Mr. Norton have high praise for Gary Ben David, a former member of Engine No. 2. Mr. Ben David builds houses and has used his resources to purchase materials locally at a discount, plus acquired lumber from Falmouth Lumber. Mr. Ben David is but one of many firemen and former firemen involved in the project.

Contributions have come in all sizes and from across the Island. There have been a lot of contributions of $10 and $20s. But they’ve also run as high as $10,000, which went for the truck, along with hundreds of dollars.

James Moreis Jr., of Oak Bluffs, a captain with Engine 3, spent last summer building a garage for his new pickup truck. But when he heard there was a need for a place to store the old Maxim fire truck, he offered the prime real estate for temporary storage. His own truck is now parked outside.

Mr. Billings said Mr. Moreis really likes the old fire truck; still, it would be nice to give him back his own garage.

Edgartown fire department’s Engine No. 2 company donated $222.22 to the cause. Mr. Billings said Edgartown already has its own little fire engine museum and he has received generous help and advice.

When it comes to shingling, Mr. Billings said they’ve already received word that they’ll get help from the carpenters in training at the regional high school’s career and vocational technical education department.

Mechanical help for the old truck is coming from Bink’s Auto.

For Mr. Norton, this project has reinforced his point of view that volunteer fire departments are the way to go when it comes to fighting a fire and getting a lot of work accomplished.

Though the state’s requirements are making it harder to run a volunteer fire department, Mr. Norton said there is still a great benefit to dedicated volunteer firemen. Often when there is a fire, Mr. Norton said, an electrician is needed. “Why you don’t have to call an electrician, there is one in the fire department. Same as a plumber. You’ve got all the experts right there in the fire department,” Mr. Norton said. A volunteer fire department is made up of a cross section of the working community.

Tax deductible contributions should be made out to the Town of Oak Bluffs Fire Dept. Restoration Fund and sent care of Donald Billings, P.O. Box 143, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557. Mr. Billings is keeping a list of all the contributors so that a plaque can be installed in the station listing the names.