DAVIDSON – The last time Davidson Volunteer Fire Department had a brand-new fire truck, Lyndon Baines Johnson was president.
“Davidson last bought a new fire truck in, like, 1967,” recalled Mayor Craig Gaines. “And it was the only truck we had at that time.”
Several of the town’s current and retired volunteer firefighters agreed.
With dry weather conditions and high winds, grassfires are common in southwest Oklahoma. “Fires are just a bigger deal now,” said Gaines. It seems as though we’re always in a drought.”
The department’s newest addition to its fleet was on display March 26 in front of Town Hall. In addition to the new rig, Davidson has two pumper trucks and two other grass rigs on its inventory. The last truck purchased was a used 2006 F-350 brush truck, Davidson Fire Chief Nathan Kreutziger said.
After one of the trucks was wrecked last year, “We really only have one deuce-and-a-half pumper, the new one, and the ’06 Ford F-350,” the chief continued.
Through a 2021 Rural Economic Action Plan (REAP) grant from the Association of South Central Oklahoma Governments (ASCOG), the rural Tillman County community was able to buy a 2020 Ford F-350 cab and chassis.
With a sticker price of $55,505, the four-wheel-drive, one-ton crew cab comes equipped with a 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel engine and a 10-speed automatic transmission. Final price on the vehicle was $46,625, said Annette Kelly, Davidson’s town clerk.
The $36,625 REAP grant was supplemented with matching funds from the town and the fire department, $5,000 each, said the mayor.
Funds are being raised to rig out the new truck, said Kreutziger.
An impromptu town hall meeting brought up topics such as crime, drugs and viable access to health care, as state Rep. Trey Caldwell, R-Lawton, along with Scott Chance, field representative for Congressman Tom Cole, arrived in town.
“We’re so thankful to the State of Oklahoma, Congressman Cole and state Representative Caldwell,” Ms. Kelly said. “But especially ASCOG. They should get a lot more credit for the things they do.”
Kelly stated that the fire department is staffed by 11 volunteers who also work full-time jobs elsewhere. “We needed this so badly,” she said. “And with everything these guys have to do, they certainly deserve it.”