Fire trucks are in short supply in Nicaragua, which is why Fire and Rescue’s latest humanitarian effort will see three of the rescue vehicles shipped there.

“Fire trucks are desperately needed there,” said Dave Sakaki of the fire service’s Operation Nicaragua.

The engines were donated or purchased at a reduced price from fire departments in Prince Rupert and Skagway, Alaska. He said the money was fundraised.

The vehicles will aid fire brigades in the Chinandega province in Northern Nicaragua. Sakaki has visited fire halls during a previous trip and found most are ill equipped and don’t have working fire engines.

“They use buckets,” he said. “They are pretty efficient — as efficient as you can be with buckets.”

Mike Martin is a firefighter in Whitehorse who helped track down the fire trucks. He arrived in Kamloops on Thursday with the engine from Prince Rupert.

Martin said the trucks were built in the 1970s and, a few mechanical problems aside, are in good condition. The vehicles will undergo a mechanical inspection before they leave the country.

Like Sakaki, Martin has spent time in Nicaragua and saw the need firefighters there have for good equipment. He said teaming up with the Kamloops effort was a no-brainer.

The trucks will be shipped via Gearbulk, an international shipping company with which Operation Nicaragua has partnered. They leave Vancouver Aug. 26 and arrive in Guatemala on Sept 12.

Sakaki and a team from Kamloops will drive the vehicles into Chinandega province, a journey of about two days, he said.