MIDDLEPORT - Firefighters from the borough didn't have to make many changes to the lettering on a fire engine they recently received from a fire company in New York state.
That's because the community in New York that donated the 1985 Spartan-Young brand engine is also called Middleport.
"But to recognize that company, we're going to keep their numbers on the side," said Todd Amos, assistant fire chief and president of Citizens Fire Company No. 1 of Middleport, Schuylkill County.
A few words were added to recognize the truck's place in time and history: "Formerly 10-E-3 Donated By: Middleport Fire Co., NY." The full name of the New York company is Middleport Fire Company No. 1.
Members of the New York station are expected to visit the Middleport station in Schuylkill County in early June for two-days of activities to celebrate the vehicle's truck housing at 29 Washington St.
On June 6, Edward A. Mann, Pennsylvania State Fire commissioner, will visit the borough. And on June 7 the truck housing celebration will be held, starting with a parade at 1 p.m., Amos said.
"We're going to drive through Brockton and New Philadlephia, the regular parade route that we do," Amos added.
A series of events brought the firefighters from the two Middleports together.
Citizens Fire Company was having trouble with an engine it acquired in 2007, a 1984 Mack.
"It has some electrical issues," Russell Hauck, Citizens' chief engineer, said.
The fire company has been struggling to find funding for two years to buy a newer model fire truck. "We put in for federal grants to try to buy a new one. We had no luck. A brand new truck would cost around $300,000," Hauck said.
"There's no real financial support. Everything we get is through fundraisers, Amos said, adding, "And how many subs would you have to sell to pay for a $300,000 truck?"
The 2014 calendar hanging on the wall of the company's headquarters featured a photo of a new Spartan-brand fire engine owned by a fire company in the New York state - a 2013 Spartan ERV Custom Cab.
Amos thought it was amusing that the name of its community was the same as the one his company is in.
"In early February, I picked up the phone and called to congratulate them on getting a new truck," Amos said.
In the conversation, Amos told them about his company's apparatus, and the New York-based company offered to donate a truck.
"They had it up for sale for more than a year," Hauck said.
"I'd say this truck, without any equipment on it, is worth more than $20,000 or $25,000. It's got a 1,000-gallon water tank and a 1,250-gallon-per-minute hail pump," Amos said.
Hauck said the donation was a blessing.
On March 22, Amos and Hauck drove up to Middleport, N.Y., to visit the company and pick up the truck. When they arrived, more than 50 firefighters were there to greet them.
"If they had a red carpet, I think it would have been out," Hauck said.
Middleport is a village in Niagara County, New York. Its fire company was formed in 1884.
Citizens Fire Company No. 1 in Middleport, Schuylkill County, was founded in 1903 in a two-room recreation center, according to the newspaper's archives. Amos said it was chartered in 1907. The members paid for the company's upkeep through 15-cent dues. And with those dues the company bought equipment in 1929, according to the newspaper's archives.
Today, the company has 10 active members. "Altogether, we have 18 members, and 10 of them are active, four are fire police and four are social members," Amos said.
It has two vehicles in service, the engine from Middleport, New York, and a 1983 model tanker it acquired in November.
Amos said Citizens Fire Company is looking to sell its 1984 Mack fire engine.
Representatives of the Middleport, N.Y., fire company could not be reached for comment Sunday.N.Y. FIRE
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