Pagel was the Moffat fire chief for 20 years — and a firefighter for 42 years — before he retired on Aug. 1, 2015.

He was lured to the surprise celebration under false pretenses, and the expressions on his face as Dennis Fender, a truck driver and ordained minister, made a speech about Pagel’s contributions were best described as stunned at first and then overcome with emotion.

Fender, with a quivering voice and tears in his eyes, has spent almost three years on a mission to honor Pagel, he said.

The engine is a 2002 Pierce Pumper with a ca­pacity of 750 gallons.  

Town Manager Jeff Hull said that the engine provides “really significant capacity” when the fire department arrives at the scene of a fire. He ex­plained that the truck is key in the moments when connections are being made to hydrants and the setup is being established.

The town has looked into alternatives, both for the short-term and the long-term. In the short term, the town looks likely to get a loaner vehicle. Hull did not comment specifically on where the loaner vehicle would be sourced from, citing the ongoing negotiations. He did say that he expected the plan to come to fruition.