The City of Ainsworth’s Volunteer Fire Department has purchased its new fire truck, which it received WCRF grant funding for in May. 

The truck has been ordered from South Dakota-based company Rosenbauer. The department has listed its current truck for sale, but will continue using it until the new truck is delivered.

The grant was awarded for $250,000, $136,000 short of the department’s original request, and the total project cost was around $587,000. Beyond the WCRF grant funding, the department’s fundraising efforts to help pay for the truck included seeking other grants, hosting a breakfast fundraiser in March, and the receipt of $32,500 in funding from local businesses.

The department’s current lead truck is 20 years old and at the end of its life cycle. The WCRF grant allowed the department to purchase a new truck rather than a used one, according to Fire Chief Waylon Schultz, “It’s huge, it’s everything. Just to ensure that we know we have good working equipment every time we respond to a call to help protect everybody, not just for Ainsworth, but for the surrounding communities as well and all of Washington County.”

Delivery is expected in 2026.