The fire truck was the first fire truck ever purchased by the Rockport Fire Department it has survived two hurricanes one in 1919 and Harvey in 2017.

In fact, the fire truck still runs today in local parades and events.

"It's a wonderful piece of history. As a motorized vehicle, that's really a piece of history that was brought to this town. that was able to be kept.," captain Gillian Cox said. "been able to do that."

The city took a 15-year-old Public Works truck and converted it into a crash attenuator vehicle for the city's Fire Department.

A new attenuator would have cost the city $127,000.  With a $20,000 grant, the city staff was able to rebuild the truck for less than half of that cost, according to the city.

An attenuator is a safety vehicle that blocks motorists from crashes and hazards in the roadway.  

“Our old rescue truck was 22 years old. We started having some minor problems with it, so we decided it was time to look into an upgrade. We found this truck and was able to fund it through our bi-monthly ticket (raffle) that we do and the trade-in on the old rescue.”

The cost of the 2008 International was $99,000. The department put a down payment of $35,000 and received $45,000 for a trade-in of their 1996 Ford L-9000 tri-axle with remaining funds coming from the Ford City Relief Association through a loan.

Assistant Chief Ray Klukan said the truck originally was in service in Myrtle Beach.

“We found this out in Lancaster. A broker bought it, then we saw it on the Internet on his webpage, and felt this is what we wanted. We contacted him and sent pictures out of our old truck to see how much he would give us back. It was a good deal and we went for it. The old truck started nickel-diming us, leaking fluid and things like that.”

Klukan said the new apparatus will be used for vehicle rescue and extrication, in addition to some fire calls.

 

Most recently, the LCVFD acquired a 2002 Freightliner vehicle that it now uses at its primary rescue vehicle. The massive truck dwarfs the 1999 Ford box truck previously used for the same purpose by the department, and unlike that vehicle, is capable of housing all of the department’s important rescue equipment.

The upgrade is significant, but the cost may be the most surprising part of the process.

“The truck itself ... it was free,” Morrow said with a smile.

The federal surplus program donated the truck to the Letts department at no charge. It was later shipped from Los Alamos, New Mexico to Decatur County for around $7,000. It was clearly a bargain as Morrow said the sticker price for such a vehicle is around $440,000.

Even better, the Freightliner was almost “good as new.”

“There were no major repairs needed, just some minor things we had to do,” said the Letts fire chief.

Board members approved the purchase of a Pierce Ford F550 Mini Pumper/Initial Attack Apparatus. The specialty low-profile piece of equipment will allow first responders and equipment access to the areas south of the railroad tracks when city streets are blocked by trains. Global Emergency Products submitted a bid of $277,800.