The engine is a 25-year-old ladder truck that Naperville City Council agreed to donate in 2014, according to city reports. Naperville retired it in 2012.

The city had tried to sell the truck without success when Cancun officials approached Naperville leaders and asked if they might donate it. The city's hotel district is full of high-rise hotels that the ladder truck could help serve, according to city reports.

The fire engine traveled via truck to Miami and boarded a cargo ship to Cancun, according to city reports. Travel expenses were paid for by the City of Cancún and the Municipality of Benito Juarez of the State of Quintana Roo, México.

Hurtado said he hopes a few Naperville firefighters will visit Cancun to help train that city's firefighters. He also would like Cancun firefighters to visit Naperville and learn additional techniques.

With a price tag of nearly $300,000, the engine – which is also designated as a Type 3 Urban Search and Rescue unit that would be crucial in the event of a major earthquake – will be housed at Station 34 on River Islands Parkway but could be shuffled around to other sites as needed.
As part of the agreement with the State of California, the district is responsible for all maintenance and repairs under $100. If it is used for immediate response in the local community, the gas must be paid for by that agency. When it gets called up to respond to a wildland fire or other major incident, the fuel will be provided by Cal OES, and all of the hours of the firefighters responding will be reimbursed by the state.
While having another engine is valuable, just being presented with one, Madoski said, is a testament to the type of training that has become standard in Lathrop for its firefighters – which are tasked with providing urban coverage to mainland Lathrop as well as staffing a pair of rural stations, a stretch of the San Joaquin River and a plethora of industrial and commercial spaces.