A grass fire in Williamson County only took Florence Volunteer firefighters a few minutes to put out Tuesday afternoon. A patch of scorched grass left behind is minor damage. But Florence is better prepared for any larger wildfires thanks to a new brush truck.

The Florence Volunteer Fire Department got a $118,000 grant from Texas A&M Forest Service to help pay for the $132,000 brush truck. The fire department pitched in the rest of the money.

The legislature gave more than $11 million back to the Forest Service last year, so the department can give out grants.

For Fiscal Year 2012, Texas A&M Forest Service had a budget of $23.2 million. That total was cut to just $7 million for the next to years. For FY2014, the state gave back some money, totaling $12.8 million, and for FY2016, the department now has $24.3 million.

Chief Shelton says their department relies on state funding, even more so now.

“We’re starting to see some rapid growth. There’s a lot of properties being developed for housing, so that call demand is going to come up,” says Shelton. “So that’s going to put more of a strain on the resources we have today.”

Chief Shelton says it took three years for them to get the grant money for the brush truck. He hopes as the county continues to grow, they won’t see anymore funding delays, so they can help protect the people of Williamson County.

The 5-ton former Army truck — used at Fort Lee, Virginia — was donated to the department through the N.C. Forest Service Volunteer Fire Assistance Program.

They picked up the truck in December of 2013 and began conversions the following month, completing the build in July, with all the work being done by the department and select members of the community.

“I’ve got blood, sweat, tears and a little bit of everything in that truck,” said Assistant Chief Franklin McKay, who wired “every inch” of the vehicle. “I did the initial drawings…we didn’t vary much from it.”

They outfitted the truck with a 2,000-gallon tank, which carries the most water of any of the department’s vehicles, after taking off the bed.

The chief said most departments leave the bed on, but by taking it off, it lowers the weight and center of gravity, “which is always good.” Franklin McKay added that they wanted to go with a long, narrow tank to help with the weight distribution.

After completing most of the body work, the truck was sent to Piedmont Correctional Facility to be painted. The chief said he wasn’t initially thrilled with the darker red color, but has since gotten used to it.

It came back on March 1, 2015, was in service 10 days later, but wasn’t used in its first fire until June — before it had flashing lights or striping, and only had one hose.

Greenfield Township Fire Department recently purchased two pieces of equipment totaling nearly $600,000 to help accommodate its four-person crew.

The largest purchase was a combination rescue truck/fire engine, which the township purchased through a three-year tax levy. The combination truck cost about $558,000, which is significantly more than what a standard fire engine would have cost the township. The department's last fire engine is about 20 years old and cost $164,000 at the time. The station's current rescue truck, which the combination truck will also be replacing, is 16 years old.

Greenfield Township Chief Terry Morris Sr. said it was time for the department to replace aging equipment, and it was an opportunity to purchase something better that fit its needs.

Whether it's a medical call, fire or crash, multiple emergency response vehicles are called to every scene. And, with a four-person crew, not all three pieces of equipment — engine, rescue truck and medic — can leave the station at one time.

"The biggest thing is the manpower," Morris said. "We would normally have to wait on mutual aid (for a rescue truck). If you need rescue tools, it's because you're trying to save someone. (The new combination truck) is everything we need on one truck."