The Neihart Volunteer Fire Department is made up of 16 volunteers and they have a 1970 fire engine hand-me-down from Great Falls Fire Rescue.

Since GFFR has been replacing older fire engines, the Neihart VFD had asked for one of their retired 1989 engines.

“We do need this truck,” Neihart VFD Chief Scott Herzog told the Great Falls City Commission on Tuesday.

Commissioners voted to set a public hearing for Oct. 3 on the proposal to donate the retired fire engine to Neihart.

City plans to donate unused fire engine to Neihart Volunteer Fire Department

In July, the city loaned the engine to Neihart through a mutual aid agreement.

“It was the right thing to do,” GFFR Chief Steve Hester said Tuesday.

The engine no longer meets GFFR’s needs, but it works well enough to serve the Neihart community, Hester said.

Since the loaned engine came from GFFR in July, Herzog said the Neihart volunteers have been training with the Montana fire school with the engine to be ready in case it’s needed.

With the high fire danger this summer, Hester said the engine donation would be beneficial to public safety for Neihart and Cascade County.