Two fire engines are heading to Mexico, as a gift from the City of Stockton. The engines are retired from service in Stockton, but will find a new life south of the border.
The City of Stockton is donating two fire engines to its Mexican sister city, Empalme.
The engines are over 20 years old and Stockton firefighter Dan Morriss says they've been replaced by newer, more reliable models.
"Both of them are still functioning fire engines but for the amount of calls and the workload put on them, they're just not viable in Stockton anymore," Morriss says.
Empalme has a population of about 100,000 but only one fire station with four engines.
Louis Gonzales speaking for Empalme says the donated engines can carry 750 gallons of water each, which is much more than the old engines the city uses now.
"When they run out of water, they have to go back to the main station. By that time, you've lost half the building and with more capacity obviously they have enough water to suppress the fire," Gonzales says.
Two retired Stockton area firefighters are driving the engines to the border, where firefighters from Empalme will meet them to complete the thousand mile journey south.
Follow us for more stories like this
CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.
Donate Today