Local Business Donates Box Truck to Putnam Rescue Squad

Putnam County Rescue Squad getting the first gift of the holiday season, a straight axle box truck.

Public Information Officer Mike Herrick said the rescue squad was looking into purchasing new trailers to replace the aging ones they use to haul heavy equipment. Herrick said Cookeville Heating and Cooling was working to sell the truck, but chose to donate it after hearing about the squad’s need for vehicles with a high carrying capacity.

“And a lot of the other equipment is very bulky and large,” Herrick said. “It won’t fit on a bed of a pickup truck or a flatbed, and so it requires a large trailer or vehicle to haul it.”

Herrick said the donation will allow the rescue squad to use the equipment needed in structure and tunnel collapses more efficiently. He said before the truck was donated the squad had to move the equipment using two separate trailers pulled by their own trucks.

“That limited the number of other resources we were able to take with us, so this will help us consolidate into one and allow us more flexibility,” Herrick said.

Herrick said the donation is an important part of the community support that allows the rescue squad to operate.

“Us being a nonprofit, a lot of that comes from the community at large,” Herrick said.