ANDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The time it takes for first responders to respond to a call can mean life or death. Still, with recent weather conditions, even the most significant vehicles struggled to tackle east Tennessee’s terrain in the ice and snow.
“Nobody thinks about the fire department until they need a fireman,” said the Operations Manager of Dan’s Advantage Towing, Brad Shadrick.
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In mid-January, Brad Shadrick grew close with the Andersonville volunteer fire department while assisting them with their calls.
As someone who works for a towing service, he saw first-hand how challenging it was to drive through Andersonville’s windy backroads in the ice and snow, and he was shocked to find out they didn’t own a Utility Terrain Vehicle or UTV.
“I asked him about the Utility vehicle,” said Shadrick, speaking about Lieutenant James Brooks of the Andersonville VFD, “and he said, ‘we just don’t have the funding for one,’ so I just took it upon myself to start a go fund me.”