WESTFIELD, PA (WENY) -- When the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby slammed the region in August, the members of the Crary Hose Volunteer Fire Company leapt into action to help neighbors in need. But just like the community it serves, the fire department suffered significant damage in the flood to its apparatus and equipment.

"On August 9 we had a terrible flood here, and we lost a lot of equipment, and all of our trucks were down for quite a while, getting repairs on them," said Marty Heyler, 2nd Assistant Chief of the Crary Hose Volunteer Fire Company. "The fire service across the state, two states [NY], have been phenomenal to us. Donation of time, donation of gear, coming out to help us, standby crews during that first week, were phenomenal."

The day of the flood, first responders from across the state were able to listen online to emergency transmissions coming out of the Northern Tier. 

"Our fire chief was on the radio that day, and they [Haverford Township Fire Companies] actually listened to him do all of his directing that day and they said 'We’ve got to do something,'" said Heyler.

Fire department members from Haverford Township, 250 miles southeast of Westfield, heard about the August 9 flooding, and didn't hesitate to help, coming to lend a hand in the days after the flood. 

"We had heard that the storm was coming through, we were able to listen with the advent of technology, we heard how bad things were, and we knew we had to mobilize and help them out," said Larry Howard, Assistant Fire Chief of the Oakmont Fire Company in Haverford Township.

Over the past seven weeks, the department has been getting back on its feet, thanks to other departments near and far. On Saturday, the fire company got a major donation towards its recovery efforts, in the form a donated engine.

"They pretty much lost all of their equipment during the flood, I wanted to get them back up on their feet so they can continue to provide the service their residents deserve. We have that equipment lying around, and it was an easy sell. It was like 'What do we need to do, how do we get it done, and get it up there?'" said Larry Howard, Assistant Fire Chief of the Oakmont Fire Company in Haverford Township. 

The truck belonged to the Bon Air Fire Company in Haverford, part of the Haverford Township Fire Companies. Along with the engine, the fire crew brought a trailer of donated items; everything from oxygen tanks, masks, boots, chainsaws, and other vital equipment to replace what the Crary Hose Company lost. 

"Because if were in that situation, it would be nice if somebody was there for me. So like you said, it's a brotherhood, we're gonna help each other out. That's what all first responders do, we're here to help," Howard said. 

The cost to replace all of the lost equipment for the Crary Hose Fire Company would be in the millions of dollars. Beyond the value of Saturday's donation, the generosity shown by fellow firefighters is priceless.

"It's a great feeling that you know that other fire companies have our back. We just hope that we can reciprocate and give it back some day," Heyler said.