Come see MTFD’s new brush truck, a purchase 20 years in the making

Manchester Township Fire Department’s newest truck will be used to fight brush fires and smaller blazes. Photo courtesy of Mike Kouba, Fire Chief.

by Sara Swanson

Manchester Township Fire Department (MTFD) has put a new utility truck has been put into service. The truck was paid for by a special donation by Nathan, known as Al, and Anna Alber. Before Al’s death in 2007, he’d talked about making a donation to the Dutchmen Firefighters Association (DFA). In 2017 Anna made a large donation. At the time the department didn’t need anything large so they held onto the money. When the department needed a better truck to fight brush fires, the DFA decided to use it use the money. 

Captain Booth of the MTFD explained that  with all the experience of the firefighters on brush fires, they knew exactly what they wanted and spent the time to outfit the truck precisely. 

Anna passed away at the end of January and didn’t get to see the completed truck but knew they were working on it and Booth stated that when he visited her, he showed her pictures, including of Anna and Al’s names on the side of the new truck.

This wasn’t the first truck the Albers helped to buy. Booth also mentioned that when he visited her, there was a plaque on the wall from 1989 commemorating when she and Al had made a large donation to MTFD for a new tanker truck.

The old truck will be kept for general transportation.

The community is invited to stop by and see the new truck when it is on display, Friday, March 27 from 6am to 9am, when W4 Country will be broadcasting live from the MTFD station, located at 275 South Macomb Street, for Firehouse Friday.

A donation by Anna Alber allowed for the purchase of the new truck. Photo courtesy of Mike Kouba, Fire Chief.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and a founder of the Manchester Mirror.