The residents of Dawn depend on the volunteer fire department (VFD) not just for fires but also for first responders, which is why the recent addition of newer trucks is giving many some peace of mind. Officials said the Dawn station has been trying to get a grant from the Texas A&M Forest Service for some time now.
So, when the station received a $200,000 grant the community was thrilled.
On average, the Dawn VFD responds to 20-30 calls a year.
Fire Chief Roy Johnson said the need for new updated trucks was urgent.
The older trucks were not dependable any more and needed constant repairs.
"It's always nice to have something you don't have to work on every time you take it out," Johnson said. "They will run quite a while before we have any real problems."
One of the new 2016 model is replacing a truck from 1971.
It has a 1,500 gallon water tank and a front monitor control station.
Johnson said both trucks have already responded to a fire and worked well, but said the fire crew did make a change to one of the trucks.
"If you notice on the new truck we did put the bumper nozzle on the side so somebody doesn't actually have to stand there and hold a hose and we can be more effective that way with less energy expended and our firefighters won't get so tired," Johnson said.