ALAMO, Texas –– Alamo Fire Department recently received a retired military vehicle and its title to add to their fleet
through Texas A&M Forest Service as part of the DoD Firefighter Property Program.
“We just couldn’t afford a new truck on our own,” Fire Chief Rolando Espinoza said. “The DoD Firefighter Property
Program presented us with a great opportunity to acquire a useful vehicle.”
The new military vehicle is the fire department’s first high profile vehicle.
“Our department serves 25 square miles directly, but our regional area covers South Texas from Del Rio to Corpus,”
Espinoza said. “Because of the large area we seek to serve, our department was in need of an additional vehicle.”
According to Regional Fire Coordinator Travis Pecht, the city of Alamo is part of the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission
Metroplex, which is home to about 830,000 people.
Recipients of this excess property are required to convert the vehicle into a service-ready unit within 180 days of
acquisition.
“In order to get this military vehicle converted into a firefighting vehicle for our department, we had to paint it non
military colors, put a hard top on it and replace all the air hoses,” Espinoza said.
The DoD Firefighter Property Program- managed nationwide by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service- provides excess military
equipment to fire departments and emergency service providers. Launched in Texas in 2005, this program has released over 300 retired military trucks to VFDs across the state to help them better protect lives and property.
“I think this program is great,” Espinoza said. “It helps us get equipment we need that most of the departments in our
area can’t afford.”
“This truck will help build their capacity to better serve not only their community but in mutual aid with the other
surrounding departments,” Petch said, speaking of the truck’s vital role in the department’s ability to respond to
emergencies.
To learn more about this program, visit http://texasfd.com.