In that fire, which began during the July 4 weekend, Flour Bluff volunteer firefighters rumbled through the brush on two trucks the department had just received several days earlier. During the past year, the 28 volunteer firefighters have added three brush trucks, built to travel off-road, bringing the total to four. Like most purchases the department makes, the trucks signify the community's creativity and commitment. This innovation is nothing new for the department, which relies on community members to be everything from firefighters to sources of funds. Holding the boot When the department needs money for its annual Christmas float that tours neighborhoods for six days during the holidays, it goes to businesses with a letter-writing campaign.
Residents also chip in as firefighters hold their boots out for donations at major intersections.
You're asking a lot because our volunteers get no compensation. They come here after working all day, sometimes they work all night, and then go to work all day again at their full-time job. The brush trucks were no different than any other volunteer endeavor. Although the department was able to buy the trucks from organizations such as the Texas Forest Service and a service selling surplus federal equipment, volunteers still needed to spend a lot of time and effort on transforming the trucks into useful fire-fighting equipment. One of the department's latest purchases includes two 1968 trucks that had to be outfitted with tanks and equipment.