Fully stocked Alberta fire truck bound for under-equipped Honduran firefighters

A fire truck in Grande Prairie, Alta., is polished and poised to douse flames more than 6,700 kilometres awayonRoatan, a Caribbean island off the coast of Honduras.

Dozens of Alberta firefighters, charities and businesses worked together over six months to refurbish and equip the 1987 Ford, which belonged to the Wetaskiwin Fire Department before it was decomissioned.

"It's perfectly working and it's headed for Honduras," said Frank Havies, with Grande Prairie Sunrise Rotary Club, which helped lead the initiative.

"Everybody's chipped in, donated their abilities and for a few dollars and lots of extra hours put in, there's a fully operational truck, fully equipped with breathing apparatuses and everything for a needy fire department."

Havies,a retired firefighter, said the fire departmentonRoatan is severely under-equipped. Some firefightersbattle blazes without helmets, using expired oxygen tanks.

"The fellows down there don't have much equipment," Havies said. "They just don't have the gear that it takes."

He estimated the value of the donated truck, equipment and volunteer hours to be more than $80,000.

The truck has been stored at Happy Trails RV, whereHaviesis the general manager, for the past four months.

Havies drove the truck to Grande Prairie from Edmonton, after the Edmonton RiverviewRotary Club contacted him about the unused vehicle.

The two Rotary clubs partnered with firefighters and businesses in both cities to update and outfit the 32-year-old truck with uniforms, hoses, pumps and oxygen tanks.

The truck also has a fresh coat of lemon-yellow paint and crests from both the Grande Prairie and Roatan fire departments.

"Rather than putting it out in the pasture and seeing it rust away, it gets put back to good use," Havies said.

"We've got the ability to connect and make things happen and that's all that happened here," he added. "Everybody wants to chip in and help."

'The truck is ready to go'

Once the Honduran government approves customs paperwork for the truck, Haviessaid itwill be transported to Fort Lauderdale in the United States and thenshipped further south to Honduras.

He expects the Roatanfire department will be able to use the truck by the end of February.

"The truck is ready to go, it runs really well," Havies said."It'll be inRoatanbefore you know it."

Firefighters on Roatanwill use the truck to battle forest and building fires, said Wilmer Guerrero, the island's fire chief.

"We cannot find words to thank each of those people in Canada who have made this possible," Guerrero wrote in an email to CBC News.

"The support of the truck and the teams will cover the great need that we have as an institution, and the best thing is that we can help each one of those islanders and visitors that require it."

@ZoeHTodd