REHOBOTH, Del. - The Rehoboth Volunteer Fire Company donated a fire engine to the Preston Volunteer Fire Department in Missouri.
The Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company say on Apr. 7, they signed a contract to purchase a new engine to replace their 1995 one. The delivery time for the new truck was estimated to take three years, with the fire company intending to keep their old engine in reserve until the new truck was close to delivery.
That was until they learned of a volunteer fire company in Preston Missouri who had lost its main response engine due to an accident that totaled their truck.
The Village of Preston, Missouri, population 157, is in a rural farming and cattle ranch area located in Hickory County, in central Missouri. The Preston Volunteer Fire Department has been serving their community for over 38 years. Fire officials say the Preston fire company have two other used fire trucks they acquired over the years. One is a tanker and the other is a 4WD field fire, pick up, they acquired from the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company.
According to officials, when Rehoboth Fire Chief Chuck Snyder heard of Preston’s plight, he contacted Preston’s Fire Chief, Brain Bennett, to offer the Rehoboth engine to them. On May 2, at the Rehoboth Fire Company meeting, the fire company members voted unanimously to send the Rehoboth truck to Preston. They also reportedly voted to add some excess firefighting equipment to the truck for Preston to use.
When contacted with the news, the Preston Fire Chief and some of his members left Missouri and drove to Rehoboth Beach. On Saturday morning, May 6, Rehoboth Engine 86-4 left Rehoboth Beach and headed for its new home in Preston, Missouri.
“This is one volunteer fire company helping another in their time a need. We are proud to help the Preston Volunteer Fire Company.” said Chief Snyder.