According to a report from WSLS, a $175,000 air truck was donated Wednesday morning and delivered to Mount Hermon Fire and Rescue in Danville, Virginia.
Mike Ownbey, President & CEO of Morgan Olson in Ringgold, presented the truck to Pittsylvania County Public Safety. Morgan Olson builds walk-in vans.
Public Safety Director Chris Slemp noted that, because of where this new truck will be stored, it will cut down response times from an hour down to about 20 minutes.
This air truck will be the second of its kind in Pittsylvania County; the other such truck is being stored on the county’s north end. This vehicle will be stored on the south end and is expected to be put to be ready for action soon.
Slemp and his crew of 400 volunteer firefighters protect Pittsylvania, the state’s largest and most rural county, and is why Bob Warren, Board of Supervisors Chairman, says they are out to get the members the funding they need. The new air truck will be just one piece of the puzzle.
Many volunteers arrive on incident scenes in their own vehicles, without an air tank. The truck has an air pumping tank, critical to their safety. It will also give them a place to treat volunteers who are tired or injured while working.
The new air truck will be used throughout the region in surrounding counties and cities.