A fire started on some grassland near a farm. The county fire department was called to put the fire out. The fire was more than the county fire department could handle. Someone suggested that a nearby volunteer bunch be called. Though there was doubt that the volunteer outfit would be of any assistance, the call was made.
The volunteers arrived in a dilapidated old firetruck. They rumbled straight toward the fire and stopped in the middle of the flames. The firemen jumped off the truck and frantically started spraying water in all directions. Soon they had snuffed out the center of the fire, breaking the blaze into two easily controllable parts.
Watching all of this, the farmer was so impressed with the volunteer fire department’s work and was so grateful that his farm had been spared, that right there on the spot he presented the volunteers with a check for $1,000. A local newspaper reporter asked the volunteer fire captain what the department planned to do with the funds.
“That oughta be obvious,” he responded, wiping ashes off his coat. “The first thing we’re gonna do is get the brakes fixed in that damned firetruck!”