MILWAUKEE --
Imagine living in a city of 300,000 thousand people, but having only one fire truck in case of an emergency.
Two men brought that experience to Milwaukee Thursday. When they leave, they'll go with a very precious gift.
Abdulhamidu Juma and Hussein Bakary are 27 and 26 years old. They come from a place where there is not plenty of anything: Morogoro, Tanzania.
They come from a department of 23 firefighters responsible for the safety of 300,000 people and they have only one fire truck.
But thanks to the Tanzanian departments new sister city, Milwaukee, Morogoro is going to have two fire trucks. Milwaukee is giving it a 1992 engine, which is due for retirement. It's obsolete to the Milwaukee department, but for Morogoro.
"It's got a very power I can say. There is a lot of water coming out, it's good," said Morogoro firefighter Abdulhamidu Juma.
The firefighters just got into town and have three days to learn the ropes.
"We're going to try to do with these guy's in one day, what it takes our members six or eight months to do. Hopefully they can catch on, so that by further on in this week we can get them up on some other things that they need to do," said Milwaukee Fire Department Lieutenant Rick Ertl.
The firefighters are so grateful, they said they have to learn it all. There are 50 fire related fatalities in Morogoro every year.
"People still cook on charcoal. In their homes, the electricity is there, but it's not reliable and you have so many kids flying around that fires start up very easily," said Ryan Skaife of the Hope In Tanzania Foundation.
The U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania will be in Milwaukee on Monday for a dedication ceremony with Mayor Tom Barrett, and then the truck will leave for New York, and will continue on to Tanzania. It could be on the streets of Morogoro fighting fires within the next 70 days.
Local businessman Dan Meehan of the Meehan foundation is covering the cost to transport the fire engine to Tanzania.
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