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Photo Provided - This fire truck, rotated out of regular service but still in good condition, will be donated to a Kentucky fire department to assist after the region was struck by heavy floods.

DALLAS — Less than a month after weathering a tornado, members of the Dallas Volunteer Fire Department will be blocking out their weekend to donate their equipment to another region in need.

Members of the Dallas VFD will be donating an out-of-service, but still fully functional, fire truck to the Carr Fork Volunteer Fire Department this weekend.

Carr County, like many parts of eastern Kentucky, suffered devastating floods in recent weeks, with a total of at least 37 killed, in addition to widespread property damage.

Among the damage was the loss of several pieces of equipment for the Carr Fork VFD, according to fire chief Bobby Thomas. Thomas said the department lost a fire truck and a side-by-side.

“We’ve been hammered pretty hard here, and we appreciate the truck. We lost one during the flood,” Thomas said Thursday. “… It’s going to help us fill in the holes here.”

The idea to donate the truck came while the Dallas VFD was working alongside the Marshall County Office of Emergency Management. OEM Director Tom Hart helped make contact with agencies in Eastern Kentucky through the state Emergency Management Agency, and the idea grew from there.

“We happened to be at the firehouse talking about other disasters, and I had talked about the truck we had put out of service, because we replaced it with a new one, and hadn’t had any buyers for it,” said Nancy Murrin, who operates Dallas VFD communications. “Rather than having it sit here for another winter, we figured we’d donate it to Kentucky, if it was okay with the rest of the membership — which, of course, it was.”

Murrin said Hart’s assistance in going through the state EMA was essential, as it was otherwise very difficult to get in touch with local agencies in need due to the ongoing disaster.

“Through the state, they were able to make contact, and we have a company down there more than happy to take the truck. … They gave me a place where they have their command center, and that’s where we’ll meet them. We don’t be going to the town, because it’s currently probably a mess.”

The Marshall County Commission will cover the travel expenses to bring the truck to the meeting spot for the donation.

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