A $150,000 grant from Smithfield Foods has allowed the Rose Hill Volunteer Fire Department to purchase a new fire truck with a 100 foot ladder, reports NBC WITN.
Until now, when a truck like this was needed in or near Rose Hill, officials said they had to call them in from other departments that are 20 to 30 minutes away.
Firefighters say they needed this truck for previous fires, and they now have their own thanks to Smithfield Foods, a national farming corporation with more than a quarter of all their operations in North Carolina.
The truck’s ladder will allow firefighters to come in from above, responding aerially. The 100 foot extension allows firefighters to put out flames from a safer distance.