The Forestry Service gave the truck to the Doddridge Fire Department, and firefighters have been working for a while to convert it to a tanker truck.

We stripped it down to the frame and started over with it. We rigged a spray system for it, put lights on it, and painted it red. It was military green," said Doddridge Fire Chief Lonnie Hazel.

"Our other tanker is getting out of date. We are needing to take it out of service soon," Hazel said. "This is a good addition to our station."

The deadline to apply for the 2018 Assistance to Firefighters Grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is Friday.  

The structure would be built behind New Philadelphia’s new fire station on E. Front Avenue. It would have several different training areas, including confined space, rappelling, forced entry and a search maze, according to New Philadelphia Fire Chief Jim Parrish.

The infrastructure for the burn structure is already in place, he said. It was included in the plans for the fire station. New Philadelphia is seeking the grant in cooperation with the city of Uhrichsville, the Arrowhead Fire District in Gnadenhutten, the Tuscarawas-Warwick Fire Department and the York Township Fire Department.