Retired Minneapolis fire truck to have new life in Kenya
|
Imagine Minneapolis without a reliable fire truck. That scenario — nearly impossible for us to comprehend — was exactly the situation in Minneapolis’ sister city of Eldoret, Kenya (population 218,446) — until folks found a way to send a retired Minneapolis pumper truck across the Atlantic Ocean. When the Minneapolis Fire Department retires one of the City’s fire trucks, the trucks are usually auctioned for parts or scrap metal. |
In this case, Minneapolis’ retired 1988 pumper truck is beginning a new life in eastern Africa. Pictured above is the pumper truck’s arrival in Eldoret in January.
When a delegation from Eldoret was in Minneapolis for the City’s 150th birthday celebration in August 2008, Eldoret’s mayor asked Fire Chief Alex Jackson if the department had any equipment it was getting rid of. Jackson was stunned to learn that Eldoret’s only reliable fire truck is stationed at its airport and cannot leave the airport for use within the city. Eldoret’s British firefighting equipment is unreliable and lacks replacement parts.
Eldoret’s lack of firefighting equipment has had tragic consequences. In January 2008 at least 50 people, including many children, were burned to death after a mob set fire to a church where they were seeking refuge from violent post-election protests.
It took a concerted effort to get Minneapolis’ 20+ year-old pumper truck to the people of Eldoret. Two challenges had to be overcome: 1) getting a 31,000 pound truck more than 8,000 miles to Kenya and 2) teaching people how to use it.
The first challenge has been overcome. First, the City Council voted to authorize the donation of the truck. Then the International Leadership Institute, the sponsor of this Sister Cities project, facilitated communication with the Municipality of Eldoret and Eldoret raised the money needed to ship the fire truck to Mombasa, Kenya where it was picked up and driven to Eldoret.
To get the truck to Mombasa, the pumper truck was loaded onto a semi truck and trucked from Minneapolis to Baltimore where it was then loaded onto a freighter for a six week sea journey to the port in Mombasa.
When the Minneapolis pumper truck arrived in Eldoret in late January, the city celebrated its arrival with a parade for the truck. Eldoret now has a vehicle that can carry its own water to a fire. (Eldoret does not have a hydrant system.)
The next challenge is teaching Eldoret’s public works employees (who double as firefighters) how to use the pumper truck. The Minneapolis Fire Department is hoping donations will make it possible to send a delegation to Eldoret to teach the recipients how to use the truck. They are also hoping to ship some old fire hoses and turnout gear to Eldoret in the coming months since the city also lacks firefighting gear.
This is the third time that Minneapolis has donated an older rig to a city in need of assistance. Two other trucks have been donated to Minneapolis’ sister city in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Feb. 3, 2010