PHOTO BY DAVID LOWE During a recent unveiling of the Adamsville Volunteer Fire Department’s new 1,000-gallon truck, several department members posed with the truck. Those on hand included, from left, firefighter James Shurtleff; firefighter Travis Blakley; former secretary Joyce Straley; Jimmie Tidwell, an Adamsville VFD member for more than 20 years; Chief Gordon Hyatt; firefighter Paul Elton; Adamsville VFD president Neil Weems; and Edmond Straley, a founding member of the volunteer fire department. The Adamsville Volunteer Fire Department recently received a 2009 model, 1,000-gallon brush truck, funded by a $155,000 grant from the Texas Forest Service.

The county provided $15,500 as a 10 percent match for the Forest Service grant, Fire Chief Gordon Hyatt said.

The truck came to the Adamsville VFD as just a cab and chassis. Robert Willis and Ricky Smith of PHARR Trucks in Lampasas built the truck's bed and railings, installed the water tank and built a firefighting platform for the front of the truck.

Volunteer firefighters soon will complete their training with the new truck and will be ready to use it when responding to fires, Hyatt said.

The new vehicle is the largest of Adamsville's six trucks. The other five have tanks that range from a 200-gallon capacity to an 800-gallon size, Hyatt said. Adamsville VFD also has a 400-gallon trailer that can be used in fighting fires.

County funds or Lampasas Fire Department donations provided for three of Adamsville's five older trucks, said the fire chief.

Hyatt, along with Adamsville VFD president Neil Weems, said they appreciate the support the volunteer department receives from members of the Lampasas County Commissioners Court.