The fire department on Madeline Island in northern Wisconsin is getting a new tanker truck, courtesy of the Port Washington Fire Department.
It’s a much-needed donation approved last week by the Port Washington Common Council.
The Madeline Island department suffered a “catastrophic loss” when an explosion and subsequent fire in early March destroyed the fire station and all the equipment stored there, Port Washington Fire Chief Mark Mitchell said.
“Everything’s gone — the turnout gear, radios, trucks,” Mitchell said.
So the Port fire department, which picked up its new tanker truck on Monday, offered to help by donating its 1986 tanker truck rather than sell it at auction.
“There’s a lot of life left in the transmission,” Mitchell said, estimating the department might have been able to get $4,000 for the old truck.
Port Washington Mayor Marty Becker agreed, saying, “It’s a good thing for us to do. The amount of money we would get for it is negligible (compared to) the good we can do.”