SAN FRANCISCO - It's everyone's secret fantasy - to ride on a big red, shiny fire truck…and maybe even slide down the fire pole.

Well, I got to do both, thanks to a fun-loving couple who live out this fantasy almost every day of their lives.

Marilyn and Robert Katzman operate San Francisco Fire Engine Tours & Adventures…with the emphasis on Adventures.

While you're on your way to the office, they're both getting up in their 105-year-old Victorian firehouse, ready to head out in their classic 1955 Mack fire truck to pick up a load of tourists for a ride across the Golden Gate Bridge.

I was recently one of those lucky "tourists," but my experience started at their home - once the city's southernmost active firehouse -- on Broad Street.

I knew exactly what to expect when I rang the doorbell -- Marilyn had forewarned me in an email:

"George, we have a spirited Dalmatian (appropriately named Sadie LaFlame), and when you ring the doorbell, she will bark madly. I will put her into a cage until…she knows that you are a guest and she can stop protecting us.

"Please do not be frightened of her barking…. She is a sweet dog, but she has a job to do, and that job is to protect the old firehouse." 

When I range the doorbell, sure enough, Sadie started to bark, and when Robert answered the door, I stepped back to a time when horses pulled steamers. 

Robert, beard and all, was dressed in an authentic nineteenth-century red fireman's uniform with flaming suspenders and a bell hat. 

As he greeted me, I looked around for Marilyn, but she was still tending to Sadie LaFlame in another room. Robert talked about the firehouse, which replaced horses with fire engines in 1921. 

All of a sudden, and quite to my astonishment, Marilyn, a former professional tap dancer and percussionist, made her grand entrance by sliding down the fire pole. And she, too, was dressed in a traditional uniform, with red shirt and bell hat.

The three of us stood on the original floor of Firehouse 33, where horses waited to gallop off on a call. 

The Katzman's beautiful '55 Mack fire truck has replaced the horses, but you can still see where the harnesses were hung.

The firehouse duo collects all sorts of memorabilia, including San Francisco fire alarms and toys; a 1902 helmet once worn belonged to lieutenant in the firehouse - and, as dedicated fans, even San Francisco Giants pennants and posters.

"We love our firehouse," Marilyn said. "It was built in 1896, so next April it's going to be 106 years old."

The Katzman's came to their way of life by accident. They were artists and needed more working space. 

"A friend mentioned that this firehouse was up for auction," Marilyn recalled. "So we came over and looked at it, and…Robert and I said, 'Oh, my God, this is us. This is where we're meant to be.'"

That was in 1977, and the Katzman's have lived in the firehouse ever since, even raising their son in it, too.

"We both love San Francisco," said Marilyn. "To be able to own and live in a piece of the history and share it with people is something…special."

For many with roots in the city, the Katzman's collection of old porcelain street signs is like a trip down memory lane.

Everywhere you turn you find history, like the old pinball machines and a 1915 piano with the original sheet music for "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."

For many with roots in this city, the Katzman's collection of old porcelain street signs is like a trip down memory lane.

In the kitchen sits a working Wedgwood stove.

"We love cooking here," said Robert. "Just like firefighters love cooking at the firehouse, we love cooking at our firehouse."

One of the liveliest features of the firehouse is Sadie LaFlame, a spirited Dalmatian, who needed calming down with dog cookies to sit still for pictures. 

Upstairs is Sadie's "room," a cozy cubicle with dog pillows. Said Robert: "If the dogs weren't hanging out with the horses, they were usually up here. Dalmatians liked to run with the horses, but when firehouses became motorized, the dogs became mascots."

The nearby officer's bedroom -- which belonged to the Katzman's son - has a bed adorned with a toy Dalmatian and firehouse-design pillowcases!

The big, 60-foot dormitory, the Katzman's living quarters, has Marilyn's dancing shoes and a Plexiglas sheet, where she did a little dance routine for me. Marilyn once performed with Donald O'Connor and did a lot of TV.

But her biggest claim to fame as a dancer may be her entry into the Guinness Book of Records, tap dancing with 12 other dancers 9.61 miles across the Golden Gate Bridge and through the streets of San Francisco!

"And the Captain (husband Robert)," she tells a tour group, "went backwards the whole way, video taping it." 

Before the ride, I asked if I could slide down the fire pole. Marilyn and Robert said "sure," but with this very simple advice: "Hug the pole."

Well, I held on for dear life -- all 30 feet of the way -- and slid down more like a snail than a fireman. My hosts cheered me on, and with a little practice, I knew that I could be just as fast as those two pros…

Close to one o'clock, they departed in the fire truck, leaving Sadie behind to guard the firehouse. I followed in my car to re-join them at the Cannery on Beach Street, where the tours depart.

About seven of us -- adults and children -- were buckled in and dressed in authentic fire coats for the ride of our lives on the shiny red fire truck.

We left with a grand flourish, as "Captain Robert" sounded the bell and Marilyn, the consummate entertainer, announced: "We're goin' to take a fire engine ride. You can't go wrong, I'll sing a song, I'm goin' to be your special guide. We're goin' to cross the Golden Gate on the Sausalito way."

We even passed a San Francisco hook-and-ladder truck and waved to the firemen, who waved back. Driving through the Presidio, Marilyn and Robert had us singing a rousing rendition of "California Here I Come." 

Once on the bridge, our red beanies, which Marilyn handed out, felt warm in the nippy air. And from the looks of people walking and driving across the marvelous span, we were the main attraction.

In Sausalito, we stopped for picture taking with the bridge looming dramatically behind us.

What a day it was, joining these two San Francisco ambassadors of goodwill, who are enjoying the time of their life.

"We always look at each other on the way to work (on the fire truck)," said Robert, "and say, 'We're the only ones going to work like this…and we love it.'"