“When you get back out into the rural areas, we need more water. We need to carry at least 1,000 gallons. Technically, this truck is considered a pumper tanker because it’s carrying 1,000 gallons of water,” said Chief John Jones, Stephens City Fire and Rescue.

As a volunteer-based company with only two paid members on duty at a time, it was a long road to pull together funds for the new truck.

“[It cost] approximately $636,000, of which, we just made a $72,000 down payment on money that we’ve been setting aside, and we have a commercial loan with the Bank of Clarke County,” said David Foley, Stephens City Fire and Rescue President.

Many of its new features, like the guard walls on top of the truck and the automatic ladder system, were engineered to help firefighter stay safe, which ultimately benefits the citizens of Stephens City.

“This truck has full harnesses in it, [and] the incorporation of airbags into the truck. There’s a lot of things, safety-wise, even with [the] operation of the truck [we have now],” Jones said.

Company members said they’re thrilled to get a state-of-the-art truck, but they’re not ready to part ways with old reliable, the original Engine 11, made by Pierce in 1990.

“This piece of equipment will be replacing a 25-year-old fire engine. That piece of equipment is not going out of service or being sold. It will be used as a reserve engine,” Foley said.

A century and more ago, horses pulled wagons with water and hoses to burning houses.

The wagons were much lighter than modern firefighting vehicles, and the horses were much stronger than people. But that doesn’t stop Wacoans from picking up ropes about this time every year to tug an 80,000-pound Waco Fire Department ladder truck about 15 yards at the Miracle Match Marathon benefitting the Scott & White Marrow Donor Program.

Four teams of 12 people each shouldered the burden of pulling the massive truck from one chalk line to the next Saturday morning after the Miracle Match 5-kilometer run centered at the Suspension Bridge over the Brazos River.

The tug didn’t appear to be exhausting, but firefighters in the cab smiled at questions about whether contestants got any assistance from under the hood, saying only that the truck was in neutral on the flat University Parks Drive.

The Miracle Match Marathon was launched in 2004 by the Waco Professional Firefighters Association, joined by the Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Association of McLennan County and other sponsors to support tissue typing for the Be the Match registry for bone marrow and stem cell transplants.

Zach's surprise 13th birthday party took place Sunday at the Eureka Volunteer Fire Department in Stewartstown, after members of the department heard he was not planning on having a birthday party at all.

"I thought it was just going to be a normal day," Zach said after he arrived at the party.

Earlier this year, Zach's mom, Robyn Foller, posted a request on Facebook for cards and gifts for her son, who told her, “Nobody comes to my party anyway. Nobody likes me because of my disabilities.”

Zach, a sixth grader at Dover Elementary School, was recently diagnosed with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder.

When Eureka Capt. Brian Howell heard of Zach's hardship, he enlisted the help of his wife, Jessica, and Eureka Chief Ira Walker to plan the party.

"We just wanted to show Zach and the community how people can come together and support each other; that's why we're here," Howell said.

In addition to the fire department, members of Southern Regional Police and New Freedom Fire Company lent a hand. Pizza for the party was donated by Original Italian Pizza and Messina's Pizza, Howell said.

The authentic firefighter helmet was crafted and donated by The Fire Store in Abbottstown, and other gifts were donated by co-workers at Howell's employer, Baltimore Gas and Electric.

As he ate pizza with his two younger siblings, brother Chris McIlvyaine, 7, and sister Sierra McIlvyaine, 4, Zach said he wants to be a police officer when he gets older. Or an architect.

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