LOXLEY, Ala. — A lot of children hoped that Santa will bring them a shiny new fire truck.

The members of the Loxley Volunteer Fire Department got two.

No, the trucks arrived well before Christmas, and unless the tree came from the “Land of the Giants,” they would not fit under a normal Christmas tree.

But tell that to Tim Curry, chief of the Loxley VFD. His face still breaks out into a smile when he speaks of the department’s new trucks, a pumper and a tanker. The tanker, designed to shuttle water from a hydrant or other water source to a fire replaces a 1985 engine.

“There are still a number of places in town that have no access to a hydrant. This enables us to get water to a fire,” said Curry. The new truck can also carry 6 instead of 2 firefighters, Curry noted.

The new pumper can carry about 1,000 gallons, and replaces a tanker “We got rid of in the 90s. It just got too old,” said Curry.

“As the town is expanding, we needed new equipment to cover everything.,” said Curry. “This is equipment to do our job.

The new trucks, painted white with red stripes, cost about $625, 299 according to a previous GCN story. The money for the engines came from ad valorem taxes paid to the county, which are then distributed to volunteer fire departments. The tax money, said Ed Vaughn, the Public Information Officer for the department, allows county volunteer fire departments to purchase new equipment, such as trucks, turnout gear and breathing apparatus. The money Vaughn added, could be spent on facilities and upkeep of existing gear.

The new apparatus have been in use for a few months, and anyone who went to the Loxley Christmas parade Dec. 19 got a look at the engines. Number 6016 is the pumper and 6010 is the tanker.

The apparatus have already been put to good use.

“We had two 18-wheelers crash on I-10,” said Curry. “The tanker kept bringing water back and forth (to the fire.)”