The fire department has 22 full-time paid fire personnel on staff, Burnett said. In the old building, firefighters had to sleep in converted offices at times.

The new two-story building will feature private bunkrooms, pass-through lockers, residential toilet/shower rooms, a large kitchen, dining room, dayroom, a fitness center as well as headquarter administrative offices for both the fire and EMS departments. There will be a large training room that can be sub-divided. The building will also include eight drive-through bays and on-site training features.

Investigators say a fire truck was responding to an incident with lights and sirens on, and the emergency vehicle went into an opposite lane to pass traffic but was hit by a black Camaro.

Police also said there was also a child in the backseat at the time of the crash. 

Jaeger said the Philadelphia-based fire department "has a very small operating budget" and couldn't afford to buy a new fire truck. "So this is going to help us out immensely with our emergency responses," he said.

BASF, which operates a large chemical plant east of Palmyra near the Mississippi River, used the fire truck as part of its emergency response unit in case a fire, hazardous material spill or other emergency were to occur.

Peter Waddington, site manager for BASF, said the company recently reviewed its safety equipment and decided to buy a new fire truck better suited for the plant's specific needs.

"We are always looking for ways to improve what we do," he said.

"The truck that we're talking about has been working here for a long time, and it's actually served us pretty well. But from a technical point of view, the truck is actually better suited for a more agricultural service rather than industrial. So we looked to get ourselves a different type of truck that is more suited to our particular needs."

Since it no longer needed the old fire truck, the company decided to offer it a local fire department in need of equipment. "We realized this could be of great service to them," Waddington said.