Pictured (l-r): Lexington Councilman Ronnie Boggs, Lexington Mayor David Montgomery, Clarkesville Fire Chief Jerry Palmer, Lexington Fire Chief George Spearing, Clarkesville Captain Kevin Sprinkle and Clarkesville Firefighter Jonathan Morgan.
A generous donation by the Clarkesville Fire Department and City of Clarkesville will be used to help save property and lives in nearby Oglethorpe County.
Clarkesville Engine No. 33 is 39 years old. It recently was replaced by a new fire engine and there simply wasn’t enough room at the fire station in Clarkesville to house both. Fire Chief Jerry Palmer says he didn’t want to let the old engine go to waste. Scrapping it wouldn’t have brought in much money, besides, it served the city well. “That truck has seen every fire since 1976,” Palmer says. “It was on the scene when Sammy Pitts was killed and it was used to put out the hot spots after the Clarkesville Square fire in March. I thought it would have been an atrocity to have it melted down for scrap, be put on sewer duty or out to pasture.”
As Palmer searched for a new home for Engine No. 33, the volunteer fire department in Lexington, Georgia, began a search of its own. One of their fire trucks was wrecked in a storm. They spent all the money they had in their budget to replace it. Their only back-up was a 1961 pumper truck that required them to jump the battery every time they used it – not exactly the best situation to be in when you’re trying to quickly respond to emergencies. Lexington sent out a mass email asking if anyone had a pumper truck they could use. Palmer saw the email, called the fire chief in Lexington and set the wheels in motion to donate Engine No. 33 to a crew…a city…that needed it.
A storied past; a second chance
Palmer’s efforts could have been thwarted, but they weren’t. The Lexington City Council eagerly embraced the idea, as did the Clarkesville City Council. In fact, Palmer can’t say enough good things about the help he received from the Clarkesville City Council and City Manager Barbara Kesler. “They were very supportive. I’m very proud and very appreciative to the city for agreeing to do that,” he says.
Engine No. 33 – the truck that was there when firefighter Sam Pitts died in the early morning hours of June 30, 1979, while battling a blaze at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church and later stood guard for four days after the devastating Clarkesville Square fire on March 5, 2014 – was driven by Clarkesville firefighters for the last time on December 30, 2014, on its way to Lexington. Chief Palmer, Captain Kevin Sprinkle and firefighter Jonathan Morgan delivered the truck to its new home.
But the story doesn’t end there
After receiving Engine No. 33 into its fleet the Lexington Fire Department paid it forward. They took their 1961 pumper truck and donated it to a fire department in Oglethorpe County that only had a pick-up truck in its fleet.
The enormity of the gift isn’t lost on Palmer.
“We couldn’t find a good purpose or place for Engine 33,” Palmer says, “but now it’s providing fire protection for two communities. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
