Thanks to the do-it-yourselfers at Bayshore, the repurposing of the vehicle will save more than $100,000.

Bayshore Fire Chief Larry Nisbet said their old 1973 6X6 military brush truck with a standard transmission was no longer capable of doing the work.

"The new vehicle had only 10,000 miles on it and is a four-wheel drive, 2.5-ton military truck with an automatic transmission," Nisbet said. "Because none of the kids these days knows how to drive a stick shift."

It took Bayshore firefighters six months to complete all the work including welding, construction, plumbing and mounting of equipment, painting the unit, and servicing the motor and transmission.

The cost of a new truck, Nisbet said, would likely be more than $125,000. After the department got finished with the old military vehicle, the final cost was less than $10,000.

The vehicle, which was used in Iraq, is loaned to the district by the Florida Forest Service to use and convert as needed. The district is able to use it until it is no longer serviceable or needed on one condition.

Bigfoot's high ground clearance and four-wheel-drive give it the ability to go places smaller brush trucks can't, and its tank has triple the capacity of its less sizable cousins.

Houston Rural obtained Bigfoot for free from the Missouri Department of Conservation, which was given about 160 of vehicles by the U.S. Army. After receiving them, MDC distributed the trucks via an application process.

Two men were basically responsible for Bigfoot's transformation from a mid-1990s model military vehicle to firefighting juggernaut: Kyle Hale and Jon Cook. The two spent thousands of man-hours toiling in Hale's shop building on Highway E north of Houston, stripping down the original truck and then rebuilding it with firefighting equipment and finishing it with a sharp red paint job.

Houston Rural's fleet now features four brush trucks, two pumpers, two rescue vehicles and a tanker. The department's roster includes 15 active firefighters.

Chief Leonard Bowen of Jasper Volunteer Fire Department explained how Engine 7 found its way to Southwest Virginia. "One of our members was a good friend of a Chancellor member and our need for a new engine was discussed by the two men."

Following a period of information-gathering, Chancellor's board approved the transfer of Engine 7 to JVFD. "This is the newest fire truck that we now have and it's our only engine with a totally closed cab," said Chief Bowen, noting that it soon will be repainted and lettered with the department patch. "We are really happy with this engine!"