Georgia Fire Dept. Donates Truck to Island Park

Story and Photos by Bob Pepalis.

The residents of Island Park have had to depend on the kindness of others to keep their homes and businesses safe from fire since Hurricane Sandy, but a fire engine they can call their own is on the way.

The City Council in Roswell, Georgia, approved the donation of a surplus fire truck to the community just north of Long Beach. Hurricane Sandy put as much as six feet of water in the Island Park fire station, and the seawater destroyed the community's own truck, and much of its equipment.

On Monday, members of the Roswell Fire Department and Roswell City Council gathered at the Roswell Fire Department headquarters to turn the truck over to the men who will drive the truck to Island Park. The truck was filled with donated equipment as well, including boots, pants, hoods and other turnout gear for firefighters.

Mike Korsch, a former Long Island firefighter and a member of the Terry Farrell Fire Fund who now lives in Acworth, Georgia, spearheaded the drive to find equipment for fire departments devastated by Hurricane Sandy. He said enough equipment was donated to outfit as many as 36 firefighters.

Korsch and David Samuelson of Hiram will take two days to drive the truck north, and hand it off on Wednesday to Island Park.

Thirty-six hours is all it took for Roswell to donate the truck, from the time Roswell Fire Chief Ricky Spencer heard about the call for help to the approval by City Council of the donation.

Fire departments from as far away as Binghamton – 200 miles from Island Park – have been stationing fire engines in the community in an extreme form of mutual aid.