Many people don’t appreciate firefighters until something happens and they need them.

     It’s then when people understand what they do and why it’s so vital to the community.

     Members of the New Sight Volunteer Fire Department are committed to protecting their community, and have recently made an acquisition to better serve it.

     New Sight VFD President Don Smith said the department recently purchased a new pumper truck from Port Arthur, Texas. The truck was bought after forming a search committee at the fire department, headed by Clint Earls.

     “We did some research and found it on firetrucks.com,” said Smith. “We did a lot of research on the truck and found the chief there was the chief in 1983 when it was bought and he explained everything about the truck to us.”

     The truck was bought brand new by the department in Texas when it was purchased in 1983.

     “It’s just like a new truck except for its age,” said Smith. “Everything on it works perfectly.”

     Smith said the truck will serve to augment the department’s fleet of trucks and relieve the ones they already have.

     The New Sight VFD financed the money for the truck out of its funds, something Smith said wasn’t easy.

     “It’s tough with money right now because we’re not up for a grant for a while,” said Smith.

     The best part about getting the new truck was that the whole department contributed to the decision, said Smith.

     “It wasn’t just one or two people at the department that made the decision, it was everyone,” he said. “We discussed it together and made the decision together.”

     The fire truck will be New Sight’s third truck, which will bring its total to two pumpers and one tanker.

     ” The important thing is to have enough trucks in case something happened to our main truck that we have a backup,” Smith said.

     Smith is a 20-year veteran of the New Sight VFD and said he wants to see the best for New Sight.

     “We’ve got some good people out there now and a good board,” he said. “This really took everyone working together.”

     The New Sight VFD has 15 volunteer firemen, something that Smith said he’d like to see expand.

     “We welcome anyone who wants to join us as a volunteer,” said Smith. “We thank the community for supporting us. Without them, you can’t do much at all.”