Halltown receives first new fire truck in history, new F-550 christened with push-in ceremony

The Halltown Rural Fire Protection District brought home a brand-new vehicle for the first time in its history on April 18. The new Ford F-550 was pushed into its new home by the very people for whom it was purchased to protect.

The new vehicle has been outfitted with a variety of top-of-the-line equipment and was purchased outright, leaving the department with no debt owed on the truck.

The truck was the first new vehicle ever purchased by the Halltown district. The vehicle cost a total of $118,000 after modifications were made to ensure it was prepared in the event of any emergency.

The truck boasts an ultra-light aluminum bed and holds 400 gallons of water in the tank mounted on the back. Inside the many compartments of the vehicle lie incredibly light hoses, hazmat equipment, cutting tools, and other emergency supplies, ensuring that the truck was ready for any eventuality, said Chairman of the Halltown Rural Fire Protection District Board, Rob Maupin. They need the best equipment they can get as they protect more than just the small community of Halltown. In addition, the small fire-fighting outfit covers more than a 100 square-mile stretch of land along I-44, a road where accidents, and therefore emergencies, are incredibly common.

“[Halltown] is very small, so we don’t have a lot of tax dollars,” said Maupin. “But that interstate over there has 43,000 vehicles on an average day. So it’s pretty difficult to keep up and to have a budget that actually can take care of a city the size of 40 or 50,000.”

In fact, Halltown’s firefighters have been called on more and more in recent years, seeing their calls rise from 122 calls in 2023 to 340 calls in 2025. Maupin said that this year, they were already on track for almost 400 calls.

The recent strides made by Halltown’s fire outfit have paid off for citizens, at least as far as insurance rates are concerned. The district, which once sat at the worst possible insurance rating, 8b, now has improved that mark to a 7.

Maupin detailed all this in a speech to attendees of the push-in ceremony on Saturday. During his speech, he also explained the importance and historical significance of pushing the new truck through the bay doors.

“So in the 1800s, all of the fire trucks were basically wagons, and they were really heavy," said Maupin. “Well, horses don’t push things backwards very well, especially when you’re using teams of four or five pairs. So they would have all the firemen and the community push the trailers into the station. And so it became a tradition to push in the new thing and put it in service for the entire community.”

The new truck, positioned next to the other vehicles in the department, was then pushed in by firefighters and citizens alike. Marking the first time a brand-new fire vehicle has found a home in Halltown’s fire district since its founding 60 years ago.

“This is the first new vehicle in this department in 60 years,” said Maupin. “And I really want you to hear that every chief, every board member, every volunteer, who came before us, six decades of them, none of them got to say those words we get to say today… You call us when you need it, so you trust us to come. We do not take that trust lightly, not for a single call. This department exists to serve you.”