Horses commissioned for service would be washed along with the pumper at their newly-assigned firehouse and backed into the firehouse bay.

The firefighters would then fit the new horse with its harness, placing the company in service.

After every run, firefighters had to hand push their pumpers back into the bay and ready themselves for the next alarm.

The new, fully-equipped rescue pumper shines with San Benito pride and pride for country.

“All of our rescue tools are going to be put on this truck.”

Throughout the afternoon of July 5, firefighters and community members stopped by the Brooklyn station to check out the new acquisition.

The rescue pumper carries 500 gallons of water, has a six-person cab complete with medical shelving, boasts a tower light to help illuminate emergency scenes, and comes equipped with a rescue winch for stabilization that can be used on the front or back of the truck.

The new vehicle was also built with safety in mind.

“Something older trucks don't have is the safety features. We have roll over protection,” said Pynch. “It's all computerized. You have to wear your seat belt in this truck (or) it will buzz, and buzz and buzz.”

It also has airbags.

“There's a lot of upgrades compared to back in the 90s with some of the trucks we have now. It's a lot safer truck.”

The 1977 Mack is “well past its life,” said Fire Chief John McLoughlin. “But we took really good care of it for 38 years. Everyone has always loved this truck.”

The vehicle had no trade in value, but the FDNY uses similar trucks for funeral details, he said.

“We knew somebody was going to be interested in it, but we didn’t want it to go to a collector or to scrap,” McLoughlin said. One of the crew discovered that the FDNY needed another truck for its funeral processions and it was decided that’s where it should roll.

The only roadblock was that, for legal reasons, the truck could not be donated directly by the borough because municipal property must be put up for auction, according to council members, who said they had initially wanted to donate the vehicle.

“We bought it for $8,500 of our own money — we all chipped in,” McLoughlin said of his crew. “We were willing to go to $16,000, but luckily we didn’t have to go that high.” They were up against one other bidder, and he pulled out at $7,500. “It still looks like new. We wouldn’t want to give it to anyone for frontline firefighting because it’s not deemed reliable for that.”

The truck is simple standard shift, which is difficult to drive and lacks seatbelts or computerized equipment that is standard for firefighting vehicles these days.

The truck was formerly known as Rapidan Tanker 10. It was purchased new in 1999 and was retrofitted with cedar panels in the compartments by one of the Rapidan members. As members of Rapidan and Climax worked to transfer equipment from Climax’s old pumper it was said that the truck had come from a good home and was going to a good home.

It was a proud day for both departments, as well as an emotional one, as the chiefs of the two departments demonstrated when the group came together for a special moment in Climax’s station. Chief Mike Smith of Rapidan presented a picture of the truck taken the day it was purchased and a Pierce emblem to display with the picture to Chief Tim Smith of Climax.