Brick Receives 2 Free Emergency Trucks

Brick Township employees traveled to New Castle, Del. on Wednesday to retrieve two trucks that have been donated to the township under a joint state-federal program.

The surplus vehicles – a transport truck and a wrecker – will provide the township with additional resources during future emergencies, said Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis.

"They are great additions to our fleet and it didn’t cost our citizens a dime of property tax dollars other than the manpower to get them," Acropolis said.

The vehicles were donated through a program coordinated by the New Jersey State Police and the United States General Services Administration.  The township's Office of Emergency Management submitted the application for the donation. The vehicles were picked up at the New Castle Air National Guard Base.

The wrecker is equipped with a tow hook on the back and a winch on the front for towing and retrieving vehicles, including large ones.

"One of the problems we encountered during the blizzard of [Dec. 26] 2010 was our large equipment breaking down," Acropolis said. "This wrecker will help if a situation like that ever arises by getting our large trucks to the garage and back on the roads quicker."

The transport truck/van will provide the township with a vehicle capable of transporting significant numbers of people during emergencies and in conditions that would otherwise hamper other vehicles, Acropolis said.

The mayor said the vehicles are especially important since such a large portion of the township is within a flood zone.

"I hope we never have to use it, but it is comforting to know that it is at our disposal," he said, adding that he is grateful for the donation.