Coke bottler – and Mickey Truck Bodies – to the rescue!

Before and after. New Fire and Rescue unit features custom rear bumper with built-in steps.

OCALA, FL ? JUNE 2021 ? Montgomery Coca-Cola Bottling Company UNITED donated a 1996 16-bay Mickey trailer on a 1998 IH4700 tractor to the Montgomery (AL) Fire and Rescue Department, and while the durable, all-aluminum Mickey unit was in solid shape, a Fire and Rescue team has little use for a soft drink delivery truck.

So, the department turned to the Mickey Fleet Services Center in Ocala, FL to completely overhaul the trailer into a customized, fully functioning, multi-purpose vehicle designed to carry all the necessary equipment required to respond to any type of emergency.

?We completely refurbished, retrofitted and repainted the entire unit from the bottom up,? says Robert Badely, Mickey?s General Manager in Ocala. The upfit included custom shelving, ramps for loading and unloading equipment into the bays, and fabricated slide-out panels for hanging hand tools like shovels, picks and hoses. Every bay has its own lighting, and separate controllers operate the lights on each side of the trailer.

Bottom: Refurbished trailer features loading ramps and slide-out panels for hanging hand tools.

The rear compartment of the trailer, used for storing ladders, posts and other equipment too long to fit in the bays, is accessed through two swing-out style doors. The Mickey team designed and created a special rear bumper with three built in steps to make it easy for responders to get to the equipment. The repurposed trailer will be a ?fantastic? addition to the agency?s fleet, says Sam Castanza, Montgomery Fire and Rescue District Chief of Special Operations. ?This will fill a gap in our special operations unit.?

?I asked the chief what he wanted on a rescue trailer, and our team built the unit and included everything on his wish list,? according to Robert.

How did the job go over with the Montgomery Fire and Rescue Department? The Mickey Fleet Services Center in Ocala is now working on two more units.

(Click HERE to read the full story as it appeared in the May 26, 2021 edition of The Ocala StarBanner.)