Mpls. Donates Firetruck, Help To Sister City In Kenya

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- You may have heard before of old fire trucks being auctioned off for scrap metal or parts. That's not the case with a 23-year-old Minneapolis Fire Department pumper truck. The City of Minneapolis donated it to its sister city in Kenya.

This Saturday, a couple firefighters and a mechanic will head to the city of Eldoret to train workers on how to use and maintain the truck, which was sent last year. Of course, they will also train workers to fight fires.

Minneapolis Fire Chief Alex Jackson says they've got it bad in Eldoret. Not only is water scarce, but there is only one fire truck for the whole community.

"It would be the equivalent of Minneapolis, which has over 300,000 people, they've got more than that, having one fire truck that serves not only Minneapolis, but let's say, Robbinsdale, Brooklyn Center and the surrounding suburbs of Minneapolis," Jackson said.

This is the first of three training trips to Kenya. Minneapolis isn't picking up the tab -- its sister city is.

WCCO-TV's Jason DeRusha Reports