North Bend officials donate fire engine

NORTH BEND - It was nearly 20 years ago when the city of North Bend took delivery of a new 1980 Seagrave fire engine that served the city and surrounding area of Fire District 38. According to Eastside Fire & Rescue (EFR) Chief Lee Soptich, "The unit was state of the art at the time and has logged thousands of hours pumping water on area fires." That era came to a close this week when North Bend Mayor Ken Hearing turned over the title of the engine to the Hat Island Fire Department.

After becoming a partner with EFR in 1999, the city of North Bend received a new engine, replacing the 1980 Seagrave engine. For the past few years the unit has sat idle, awaiting a potential buyer. When several attempts to sell the unit failed to produce a buyer, the decision was made to donate the unit to a deserving agency.

The city received several requests for the engine. It was decided that Hat Island demonstrated the most need, and their community would benefit the most from having the "new" engine on the island.

Mayor Hearing noted, "It was good to be able to provide the donated truck to Hat Island, where it is sure to see many more years of service. North Bend has benefited in the past through the generosity of others, so it was good to be able to do the same for an area in need."

The engine will be barged to Hat Island, located in Snohomish County, sometime within the next month.

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