That donation puts Currituck's program well ahead of the curve, public safety instructor Wayne Turner said Saturday before accepting the truck from Lower Currituck Fire Chief Vernon Hart. Few high school public safety programs in the area have vehicles to practice with, he said, describing the fire engine as a major asset for the high school's two-year-old public safety program.

City Engineer Justin L. Wood explained it was better to replace the entire HVAC system rather than just the 50-year-old air handlers that were still used before the fire station was converted from an old city pool back 25 years ago.

The city had planned just replacing the air handlers — blowers that move air around the building — at a cost of $200,000 until an engineering firm evaluated the system and recommended a complete redo, Mr. Wood said.

The Houston Fire Department lost 28 pieces of equipment during the storm, including six engines, which cost about $500,000 each to replace. Four “boosters," smaller trucks with on-board water supplies, are also total losses.

In a city of 2.3 million people that floods regularly, the Houston Fire Department only owns one high-water vehicle.