El Cajon's original firehouse now sits at the back of Fire Station 9 on North Marshal Avenue.
Its been there since the early 1980s, and that's about how long the El Cajon Firemen's Association has been trying to find a permanent place for it, a place where the public can visit it.
The firehouse was built in 1892.
Former El Cajon Fire Chief Ed Jarrell says the biggest challenge for the building is finding available land to put it on.
"For something to be around this long, and to have survived this long, it's had several times in its life where it was going to be dismantled and done away with, it's got a life, and it's going to continue, and it's just waiting for that perfect time, and that perfect scenario, where it can come back to life for the city," Jarrell told NBC7.
Right now, leftover lumber taken from railroad cars sits inside the old firehouse, left behind from when the building used to sit near railroad tracks. An old hose reel that was once used for fires also sits inside.
He said it would take $20,000 to $30,000 to restore the wood structure to current fire and building code standards.
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The 1892 firehouse was originally a converted lumber yard office. In the past it has also been used as a tailor shop, a sanitarium and even as a garage for former El Cajon City Council Member Al van Zanten.
