ADA, Mich. — A fire department kicked off a fundraiser in order to help deliver one of their fire engines to a department hit by tragedy.
Fox17 reported that the Ada Township Fire Department will donate their engine to the Abbott (Texas) Volunteer Fire Department following a fertilizer plant explosion in West. The town of Abbott, which is just five miles north of the plant explosion in the small town of West, lost two of their own firefighters while trying to help their next door neighbors.
“We’ve seen pictures, it’s just devastating down there,” said Brandon Holmes, Ada Township Firefighter.
The explosion killed 14 people, 10 of whom were firefighters and medics.
When Ada firefighters realized they were getting a new truck, they asked municipal leaders to donate the engine — a sacrifice of about $25,000 if they sold the rig, according to the report.
“The budget they have there is very small, they have about a $12,000 a year budget,” said Lt. David Murray. “Everybody there is volunteer. Nobody gets paid any money and it was just a chance, timing, it all worked out that we had a truck and they needed one.”
They are raising gas money for the truck by selling shirts for what they estimate will be a 1,200 mile drive, according to the report.
The shirts are selling for $15 and the firefighters estimated they will need about $3,000, according to the report.
“It’s just a brotherhood, thus the shirt. Brothers helping brothers. We just figured it was kind of appropriate,” said Holmes.