Firefighters go off-road

BUCYRUS – When it comes to really cool vehicles, every kid knows there’s no place quite like the local fire station. But on Friday morning, the Bucyrus Fire Department really outdid itself in the coolness department.

Courtesy of Arctic Cat, the Minnesota-based manufacturer of all-terrain vehicles that has a warehouse in Bucyrus, the Fire Department has a new ATV in its station house, and it’s awesome.

“They were first donated to the police department, and they weren’t using them at the time so we borrowed one. It’s basically a scout vehicle. We’ve had fires in fields and at the golf course, and you can get into things so much easier with the four-wheeler,” Bucyrus Fire Chief Jay Keller said. The department has used the vehicle for body recovery.

The firefighters and an official from Arctic Cat executed what was essentially a trade-in Friday, giving back a dark green ATV the department had used since 2005 in exchange for a shiny, new vehicle.

“You put them side to side and it’s like going from a basic to a Cadillac version,” said Ken Auck, a facility manager for Arctic Cat.

Said Keller, who added that the new ATV will be ridden in the festival’s parade this summer, “The best time for it is actually during the Bratwurst Festival to get us around. We have bee stings and all kinds of stuff, and we go out on that. The police are always really busy around that time.

“It’s been a great help. Look at that thing; that’s unreal.”

“It’s just being involved in the community, and it’s also good marketing,” Auck said, explaining the motivations for the donation. “Our corporate office does it for their hometown, Thief River Falls, Minn., which is a small town a lot like Bucyrus, and we try to do it for the local agencies.”

Because the Fire Department can one day expect to trade in the new ATV it received Friday, it won’t be able to mark it up the way it does its fire trucks, but at least it’s the right color.

“We won’t be able to put ‘Believe in Bucyrus’ on the side,” Keller said. “It’s a beautiful red, I don’t want to touch it. You can’t ask for anything better than that.”

thill3@nncogannett.com

419-563-9225

Twitter: @ToddHillMNJ