Local EMS crew uses emergency truck from 9-11
By: Heather Sawaski
Updated: September 9, 2011
MOUNTAIN, Wis. (WFRV)- It's no ordinary emergency response vehicle. This one has a past.
"We didn't really know about the history of the truck until we purchased it," Mountain EMS member Rob McClain said.
Now part of the Mountain Ambulance Service in Oconto County, the vehicle once belonged to the New York Fire Patrol. It was dispatched to the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001.
"It sends chills up your spine, you see things in there," explained EMS Administrator Christopher Schultz. "We pulled out underneath some insulation and it just gives you the chills knowing this was there."
Back in January of 2010, the ambulance service was in need of another vehicle. They contacted a broker out of Tennessee.
"He had told us this truck was from 9-11, we didn't believe him," said Schultz. "But after going through some research of the truck, running VIN numbers, trying to figure out where the truck was from. We did find out that it was from New York."
The truck was in rough shape when it arrived in Wisconsin.
"It took our service a long time to do the refurbishing, making it the truck it is now," said McClain.
On the back of the truck, there's a tribute to a life lost too soon. 27 year old Keith Roma was in the truck when it responded to the Twin Towers on September 11th. He never made it home.
"On Rescue 2 in New York Fire Patrol in the City of New York," explained Schultz. "they have a plaque dedicated to Keith Roma and we decided to put something, at least on the truck, that he was in this truck and he died on 9-11."
During the refurbishing process, crews found rocks up underneath the truck. They're not exactly sure they came from Ground Zero, but they're saving them as a reminder of what happened on that historic day.
It's now the primary emergency vehicle for the Mountain Ambulance Service. It's a piece of national history that will continue to roll through northeast Wisconsin. And the significance of the vehicle isn't lost on anyone.
"With this truck, it gives us that view we're still working together as a community," commented McClain.
More than half of the $80,000 vehicle was paid for by donations from the community.
