"[The truck] has a large amount of ground clearance, and a wide footprint,” Hayes said. “So, it will be able to go a lot of places our four wheel drive wild land trucks can't.”

With countless volunteer hours, the hummer was transformed into a firefighting tool, which can give firefighters access to places they couldn't get before.

"Places where we would possibly tear up one of our other brush trucks, we feel this will go with ease. And we won't break it. So that's good," Hayes said.

"It was a safety hazard," Kozey said. "You can't run out of water once you start."

For several months, Kozey tinkered with a design until he perfected a self-leveling floating strainer. It was light enough for one person to handle. He got a patent on it, and fire companies in the area started buying the device. Then he built something firefighters could use to break through the ice to get to water in the winter. He got a patent on that long-handled ice strainer.

Things just snowballed from there. From strainers, he moved on to other firefighting equipment. Today, the company sells a host of other fire equipment, irrigation, water works, and industrial products for customers. They have a $4.5 million contract with the government to fight forest fires. Their products are sold in the United States, Canada, and internationally. Most of the fire departments in the area use Kochek products and equipment.