Dateline: April 13, 2006

Claude donates truck to Howardwick firemen

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

The Howardwick Fire Department has a new ride thanks to the generosity of their brethren in Claude.

Even though the four-wheel drive Chevy fire truck isn’t brand new, it’s still a very welcome addition to the local volunteer department that lost one of its two grassfire trucks in a rollover that injured three firemen on March 12, one of whom – James McMorries, has since died.

“We’re very proud of it,” Howardwick Mayor Pro-tem Marvin Elam said. “We’ve got our decals on it and got it numbered, and it’s already been christened in last week’s fires.”

Elam said the gift from the Claude VFD is very appreciated and is a great example of the generosity being shown to his city’s department. Donations have poured in from around the area, and letters have been received from California to New York.

“The brotherhood of firefighters, next to that of policemen, is probably one of the biggest,” Elam said.

Governor Rick Perry’s office and Congressman Mac Thornberry’s office have both been in close contact with the city to make sure its needs are being met.

The City of Amarillo has arranged for donations of equipment, and the Texas Forest Service has arranged for Howardwick to receive a 2½-ton Army surplus truck to be used for grassfires.

“We’re going to outfit it just like Clarendon does when we get it,” Elam said, “and all of our trucks will be equipped with roll cages to protect our firemen in the future.”

The forest service has also given emergency priority to a grant application for Howardwick to purchase a brand new truck.

If approved, the state agency would pay 90 percent of the cost of a new truck with the city to pick up the remaining ten percent.

Elam said a new truck that could be used for both grass and structure fires would cost about $108,000 and said the city should know in about ten days whether that grant application has been approved.

The Howardwick Fire Department has come a long way since the first of the year, Elam said. When the New Year’s Day fire burned 21,000 acres in Donley County, the department only had four or five men. Now it has over 30 members who are training and working together.

“What ever happened in the past is in the past,” Elam said. “The guys are working together and having fun, and the city is proud of them.”

Elam said the Howardwick department trains with the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department; and when the two groups work on the same fire, Howardwick’s firemen work under Clarendon’s command structure.

“The only difference is their trucks are red and ours are white,” Elam said.

The people of Howardwick recognized how important the fire department is to the community and have risen to the challenge.

“Our department can defend Howardwick if we have to now,” Elam said, “and we have a better chance of helping Clarendon and Hedley, too.”

A fund to help the Howardwick Fire Department replace its lost truck has been established at the Community Bank in Clarendon, and donations to help that city’s injured firemen with living expenses can be made at the Donley County State Bank, which will wire the money to the proper accounts at Amarillo National Bank.