Donated fire truck soon to head to New York

Jessica Foster
Forest Lake Times
Itís just about done ñ the labor of love that took 60 employees of General Safety Equipment about 3,000 hours of donated labor to build.
All that remains to be done to the 32-foot heavy rescue fire truck is finishing touches: graphics, diamond tread and a few nuts and bolts.
While delivery plans have not been finalized, sometime after the Sept. 11 anniversary has passed, a couple of employees will climb in the cab and journey to the Big Apple to present the gift in person.
A way to help
When the world changed on Sept. 11, 2001, the employees of General Safety, like many Americans, searched for ways to help.
Kevin Kirvida, owner of the Wyoming-based company, hung up a sign in the shop. If folks wanted to donate money to the American Red Cross, Kirvida would open his purse strings to match it.
Then things got interesting.
Shop electrician Lance Furber (no longer with General Safety) got his feelers out and asked his fellow employees if they would be willing ñ provided the company would help with the supplies ñ to donate labor to build a new truck to replace one of 100 trucks lost to the city on that fateful day.
As a group, the employees at General Safety were overwhelmingly in favor.
The company had a demo truck, a pumper, which they thought could be outfitted to serve the city of New York.
Kirvida and then plant manager Mike LeMieux traveled to New York where their thought was appreciated ñ but such a truck was not needed.
Instead, city officials told the pair from General Safety, New York needed a truck which would take triple the labor.
ìIt was a lot more truck than what we had in mind,î said General Safety Production Manager Dave Green.
Kirvida told his employees about the wrinkle in the plan. He left a sheet of paper. Those who still wanted to donate the labor should sign their name by dayís end.
ìBy the end of the day virtually every employee had signed the paper,î Kirvida said.
But the giving did not stop with the guys at General Safety. More than a dozen companies and suppliers would step up to the plate to bring the idealistic plan to fruition. The greatest of these gifts, a chassis (valued at about $300,000) was donated by Mack Truck.
Hold up
When something is coming without a price tag it is difficult to complain about delivery dates.
While General Safety thought they would be able to begin construction on the truck in November, the chassis was not delivered until April. Then, there was engineering work to be done.
When employees signed their nights and weekends away they thought it would be Minnesota winter days and nights, not the valuable spring and summer days.
ìWe didnít start turning nuts and bolts until the middle of May,î Green said.
Still, the staff pressed on. To get the truck done in a reasonable time, the FDNY rig was put into regular production with trucks being custom built for fire companies around the world.
ìWe made a commitment and we want to see it through,î he said.
An original
From what he has learned, Green estimates, several fire truck companies across the country have donated trucks to FDNY.
What separates the Minnesota company from the pack is the people-driven effort of employees giving up their free time to work on a truck for men and women who go out every day to do heroic work.
ìIt is my understanding that we are the only company that the employees are donating labor,î Green said.
Worldwide company
One of about 50 fire truck manufacturers in the nation, General Safety produces, on average, 60 trucks annually.
However, FDNY never has been a customer of General Safety.
ìWe had no relationship with New York City,î Green said.
While acknowledging this donation could result in additional revenue down the line, Green stressed that never has been the driving factor.
ìWhat it primarily is ñ first and foremost ñ is a gift to the people who lost more than anybody else at any given time,î Green said. ìWeíre trying to help make up for losses they experienced.î
While about half of the companyís clients are Minnesota-based, General Safety is a world-wide company with apparatus being shipped as close as Lindstrom to as far as Egypt, Israel, Columbia, China and South Africa.
The company has been in operation since opening doors in Lindstrom in 1929. After moving to North Branch in 1950, the company has been based in the Wyoming Industrial Park since 1992.

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