BRIDGEVILLE, Del. - The Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Company is looking for a new home for a lovingly maintained fire engine.
The department's 1994 Pierce Saber fire engine is fully operational and has only 36,000 miles on it. Bridgeville VFC is purchasing a new engine to replace it.
However, the 28-year old engine has very low resale value, and Bridgeville firefighters do not want to see a fully functional fire engine go to the junkyard.
So they have decided to donate it to a deserving fire department.
"There are a lot of departments that maybe just need a replacement truck," says Matthew Smith, President of the Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Company. "[They] need something that they can use in their community that's reliable. This is a great truck, a great engine that will make someone very happy to have."
Bridgeville VFC posted its desire to donate the fire engine on Facebook, where the post has attracted interest from across Delmarva and beyond.
"We've had a lot of response from Maryland departments right in our area, and from the Eastern Shore of Virginia, where there's a need," Smith continued. "Some people have reached out on Facebook from as far away as Tennessee and Kentucky."
After having maintained the fire engine in top condition for nearly three decades, the Bridgeville firefighters are looking forward to sending it on to a new chapter in its service career.
"It makes us feel very prideful that we can take something that we cherished and taken very good care of and give it to somebody else and let them enjoy it," said R.C., First Assistant Chief of the Bridgeville VFC. "We like seeing the legacy go on."
The engine's new owners will only have to pay the costs to transport the engine to its new home.
If you are with, or know of a department that may benefit from having this truck, application information is on the Bridgeville VFC Facebook page. You can also call (302) 337-7272.
