A pair of decommissioned County of Grande Prairie fire engines will soon have a new home, far away from the cold and snow of northern Alberta.
The keys to the two trucks are now in the hands of the Grande Prairie Sunrise Rotary Club for donation to the Roatan Fire Department in Honduras, and the Swan City Rotary Club for donation to communities in Mazatlán, Mexico.
“These vehicles continue to enhance the quality of life and safety for the first responders, citizens, and tourists of the area,” says Sunrise Rotary Club Board Member Frank Havies.
The two 23-year-old fire engines no longer meet Canadian safety standards, however, they remain in fantastic working condition.
“I understand that the Roatan is a smaller area, and are generally struggling to get equipment to be able to do their job,” says County of Grande Prairie Fire Chief Dan Verdun. “It’s great that in the brotherhood of firefighters, albeit, it’s not brand new, it’s equipment that is probably superior to what they currently have.”
The second truck is part of the long-standing Swan City Rotary Club’s annual Highway to Mexico project, where vehicles are delivered to Mazatlán. Once the trucks arrive, they are turned over to the local Rotary Clubs and distributed to communities with the greatest need.
The Rotary Club also takes care of shipping costs for the vehicles, so the gesture comes to no extra cost to the County of Grande Prairie.