Danie M. Huffman

wdreporter2@yahoo.com

After years of fighting fire with makeshift trucks and outdated tools desperately in need of replacement, and after applying four times for grants to purchase a new fire engine, only to be denied, Millsap Volunteer firefighters finally got what they were asking for.

Tuesday evening, community members and officials gathered to dedicate engine 42 as part of Millsap’s department.

Millsap Firefighter David Morton began the dedication ceremony with a prayer, thanking God for supplying them with a new Freightliner fire engine valued at $300,000 and more than $100,000 in tools to equip the apparatus.

Neal Doss, Millsap Fire chief, said volunteers have been fighting fire with a tanker truck never meant to be used as a fire fighting truck, which was purchased almost five years ago.

“It was mainly designed to haul water and carry tools,” he said. “We’ve had to use it because we just didn’t have the funds to purchase a new one.”

Three years ago, the department had to take the only engine it had out of service due to fearing for the safety of its members.

“Every time we took it out, even for public appearances like parades, we’d have to have it repaired,” Doss said.

Assistant Chief Jeff Edwards said he worked with Congresswoman Kay Granger’s Office to receive funds for a new truck through a grant by the Department of Homeland Security for assistance to firefighters.

Sally Burt, outreach representative for Granger’s office, was at the ceremony to present a congratulations letter from Granger to the department.

Edwards said Burt went the extra mile after knowing the department’s need for a new truck.

“It was completely beyond the reach of a volunteer fire department to afford a $300,000 truck like this,” Edwards said to Burt during the ceremony. “But [Burt] helped with funding issues and although it was frustrating, she saw it through. We just want to thank you for that.”

Burt thanked the firefighters for the job they do and said they do it well.

Millsap ISD Superintendent Jerry Hunkapillar allowed the department to use the high school grounds for the ceremony and congratulated them on the new truck.

Edwards said the school district occasionally lets the firefighters use the grounds for training classes as well.

Parker County Precinct 3 Commissioner John Roth also attended the ceremony and said the department has made great strides in achieving goals with cooperative efforts from the county.

“There are two kinds of firefighters,” Roth said to the volunteers. “Those who are paid to fight fire and those who pay to fight fire. It amazes me that there are people like y’all who stick their necks out for people and their property. Thank you.”

The engine was equipped with four air packs and four additional spare bottles, along with the jaws of life, air bags, fittings, nozzles and hoses paid for by a separate grant through the Texas Forest Service.

The department was officially organized in 1952, after using bucket brigades since the early 1900s.

When Edwards first joined in 1983, he said the department consisted of a two-bay station with two used trucks.

“In 1996, we got a Chevy one-ton brush truck, which was the first truck the department had gotten in 32 years,” he said. “Today, it’s the oldest truck we have still in service. We now have a five-bay station with seven trucks including the new engine.”

A bulldog was placed on the side of the truck, representing Millsap’s mascot.

Edwards said the truck’s motto will be “This dawg likes it hot.”

Within three minutes of concluding the dedication, firefighters turned on the sirens and lights to head to Interstate 20 for an auto accident.

A guard rail was mangled after a vehicle ran into it, then fled the scene.

The engine’s lights deterred motorists away from the potential hazard, allowing firefighters to remove debris.

“We may still not be up to paid department’s standards,” Edwards said. “But we have great volunteers and the help of our community and officials who care enough to see to it we do our jobs to the best of our abilities,” Edwards said.

For more information on Millsap Volunteer Fire Department or to become a member, log onto www.millsapvfd.org.