MARSTON — A fire department in Hoke County has a “new” truck, thanks to Hoffman Fire and Rescue.
The Hoffman department on Monday donated one of its vehicles to the Tylertown Volunteer Fire Department, which serves the area north of Raeford.
Hoffman Fire Chief Frank McKay said the department was trying to sell the 1984 GMC truck from its Marston station for quite a while.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to sell used fire trucks,” he said.
Then Tylertown’s Hervan McCallum asked about the possibility of using it for a tanker.
McCallum said his department has been closed for several years and is in the rebound stage and looking for an opportunity to “get back and start fighting fires again.”
In addition to the fire truck, Hoffman also donated sections of fire hose, four air packs and 20 air pack bottles.
McKay didn’t tell McCallum about the air packs until being interviewed.
McCallum’s eyes widened when he heard about the additional gifts.
McKay did say, however, that those bottles are past their 15-year lifespan, but can still be used for training.
“Anything that you can do for us, we greatly appreciate it,” McCallum said. “You’re just a Godsend.”
This is the second truck Hoffman has donated to a department in need, according to McKay.
The first was around 15 years ago to a department in the mountains, “about as far west as you can be in North Carolina and still be in the state.”
McKay said the Hoffman and Derby departments are the two poorest in the county and don’t have a lot of money.
“People have helped us a lot in the past,” he said, “and we felt like this was an opportunity to pass it along.”
