In what is being called an unfortunate accident, one of the West End Fire Company's engines was involved in a crash, leaving the fire company short a vehicle.

"The engineer was on his way to setting up a landing zone and made a U-turn," said West End Fire Chief Don Zipp III. "Unfortunately, he wrapped around a pole that was in his blindspot."Zipp said that they were not sure what the cost of the damage was and that the insurance company is working directly with the manufacturer to get the truck repaired. In the meantime Polk Township board of supervisors and the Polk Township Volunteer Fire Company stepped up in a big way by donating an engine to Chestnuthill Township while its truck is being repaired."This is really appreciated," said Chestnuthill Supervisor Harry Miller. "As a township we are responsible to the safety of our residents, and with the help of Polk we were able to do that."The engine has already responded to a house fire in the township.Chestnuthill invited Polk Township supervisors and fire chief to attend Tuesday evening's meeting and honored them with a resolution in appreciation of Polk's action."It is great to be able to work together with a township like Polk," Miller said. "They are always easy to work with whether it is related to the roads that we share or something like this. It would be nice to see politicians in Washington be able to work together like this."Capital purchasesThe township also approved motions to purchase a new GMC pickup with snowplow for use by the building and grounds department and the road department. The township had been looking to purchase a used vehicle for the building and grounds department, but decided that for a bit more money the new truck would serve both departments.The truck will cost $37,792, which will leave about $7,000 in the budget for a "mule" or all-purpose vehicle. Township Manager Dave Albright said he believed that would not be enough and the township will probably put off the second purchase until the next budget cycle.Albright also requested that the township purchase a new yard waste grinder for the transfer station. Albright said that originally they believed that a new grinder would be greater than a half-million dollars, but with some research they came across the Vermeer HD 4000, which will do the job efficiently at a cost of $316,972.