- In this video, Patty Gardner, who turns 95 on Dec. 10, shares her excitement about Mojave receiving a new fire engine.
- The Kern County Fire Department delivers a new fire engine to Mojave Station 14.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
MOJAVE - You might’ve seen one of these in Rosamond and in Tehachapi. Now there’s a new one in Mojave. Today was a special day for this community of Mojave because they came out and saw this new fire engine.
(How does it feel to see a brand new fire truck come to Mojave today?)
“Oh! This is exciting. This is wonderful," said Patty Gardner, a Mojave resident.
Patty Gardner will turn 95 on December 10th, and says she got an early birthday present on Wednesday when she saw Mojave Fire Station 14 receive a new engine.
“I’ve been in this town for years and anything that we can get, new or improvements, I’m all for them. I’m for progress. Even in my age, I’m for progress,” she said.
Gardner says her house burned down about 15 years ago because it was too far from a hydrant. The new fire engine stores more water and is capable of hooking up to most hydrants.
“We just had to stand there and watch the house burn. And it was really sad. Sad to this day. But that’s OK, I got another lovely new home,” she said.
The new engine costs $1.2 million and replaced a truck that had been in service since 2005.
It will be useful for fire incidents on the highway and all over Mojave, including the Air and Space Port.
“This station has been serving this community since 1939. So we have a tremendous history of being intertwined with this community here, the Kern County Fire Department and the community here, the City of Mojave. And so now to be able to be on site to deliver a new fire engine that’s going to be able to serve this community for years to come is absolutely exciting," said Capt. Andrew Freeborn of the Kern County Fire Department.
Zack Scrivner, District 2 supervisor said “These are investments that we’re making in order to improve safety, and also quality of life throughout the unincorporated areas of Kern County.”
Replacing the engine didn’t happen overnight. Officials say this process took more than two years to complete.
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