San Pedro Town will soon be the recipient of a fire truck that arrived at Belize’s Philip S.W Goldson International Airport on Wednesday, May 8th. Acquired in the United States of America (USA), the fire truck came aboard a U.S Airforce C-17 Globemaster aircraft shortly after 2PM. Arrangements are now being made to transport the truck to the island, where it is expected to be delivered to the San Pedro Fire Department in a week or two.
The fire truck is a 1983 Seagrave model and was formerly operated by Carlisle Township Fire Department in New Brunswick, Ohio, USA. The San Pedro Sun was informed that the vehicle has a 750-gallon water tank, in good condition with around 28,000 miles on it, and only four thousand miles on its transmission. The delivery to Belize was made possible by the ‘Denton Program,’ which allows U.S based non-governmental sources to transport humanitarian aid at little or no cost. U.S military transport assets are used in these types of works and are administered by the U.S Agency for International Development, Department of State, and the Department of Defence. The program is the legacy of the late Admiral Jeremiah Denton, a Vietnam War Veteran and a U.S Senator from 1981 to 1987. His vision of humanitarian aid continues to assist thousands of children and families throughout Latin America, the Caribbean and parts of Asia.
This fire truck will join the two current trucks in service on the island. Unofficial reports are that two trucks will remain at the station downtown San Pedro, while the third truck will be stationed south of town to respond better to fire emergencies. This will be the second truck donated to the San Pedro Fire Department. The most recent donation took place in December 2018, when Digi Belize handed over a new fire truck to the island’s fire department.
This is the second fire truck delivered by the Denton Program to the cayes. In November 2017, they brought a 1,000-gallon fire truck for Caye Caulker. That truck was a generous donation from the Beechwold Christian Church in Columbus Ohio, USA.
