HOLLIDAY, Texas –– Lake Kickapoo Volunteer Fire Department now has a fully equipped converted
military truck to call its own, thanks to the DoD Firefighter Property Program.
The program, managed by the U.S. Forest Service and administered by Texas A&M Forest Service,
assigns excess trucks to VFDs in need across the state of Texas.
“We are a small VFD and we exist almost solely on donations with a small amount of money from the
county,” Fire Chief James Mellard said. “We have a very limited budget.”
Recipients of this excess property are required to convert the vehicle into a service-ready unit within 180
days of acquisition.
“We painted it and installed the electronics, skid unit, and fabrication to make it safe to use as a
firefighting vehicle,” Mellard said. “It has a tank that holds 1,000 gallons of water and we added a new
pump as well.”
The converted military truck will help address several of the issues this VFD previously faced.
“They are in a remote location in the corner of the county, and they were having a lot of water issues
because of the drought,” Regional Fire Coordinator Tyler Raynes said. “Having a large truck capable of
carrying large amounts of water over many kinds of terrain will boost their capacity.”
Since its founding in 2005, the DoD FFP program has released over 300 retired military trucks to VFDs
across the state to help them better protect lives and property.
“We are very thankful to TFS for making these trucks available,” Mellard said. “This truck is a lot newer
than the other vehicles we operate with, so it is less likely to break down or have problems. We are proud
to have a truck to call our own.”
To learn more about this program, visit http://texasfd.com.