Gifted Fort Lauderdale Fire Truck Being Put To Good Use In Marsh Harbour

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – The gifted Fort Lauderdale fire truck is being put to good use in the Bahamas.

In the wake of Hurricane Dorian's destruction, fires have been a major concern on the Bahamian island of Marsh Harbour.

Unfortunately, the Marsh Harbour trucks were out of service. Most were damaged beyond repair and their fire facility in shambles.

Thankfully, back in December of 2019, Fort Lauderdale commissioners and the Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue chief decided against auctioning off an older fire truck.

Instead, it was donated to the volunteer fire rescue department in Marsh Harbour.

"Many times we send our trucks off and they are purchased at auction and things like that. In this case we are seeing the impact that it has," said Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Stephen Gollan.

The donated truck was a godsend.

"We had one that was working right after the storm and it failed, so we were in dire need of a fire truck," said Ruth Saunders with Marsh Harbour Fire Rescue. "We were happy to get that fire truck and one from Templeton in Tampa."

The most recent fire the Fort Lauderdale truck fought was about to endanger a nearby two-story home.

"They had one structure fire that we know that the truck, if they did not have the truck, that fire would have spread to other family residences," said Fort Lauderdale Fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr.

The city of Fort Lauderdale's goodwill gesture is paying off in the Bahamas, and the firefighters there are beyond grateful.

"Yes, it is a beauty and firefighters are excited about learning more about it," Saunders said.