Anamosa Teacher Buys Fire Truck to Train Future Firefighters

A retired, would-be-out-of-service fire truck is instead getting an important second life following the generosity of an Anamosa teacher, who is looking to combat firefighter recruitment challenges across the state of Iowa.

The 2025-26 school year marked the first school year where Anamosa High School would offer an introductory fire service course, which gave students the opportunity to experience the hands-on training necessary to serve as volunteer firefighters. Teacher William Tuthill took it upon himself to give the program a seismic leap forward in its possibilities.

READ MORE: Iowa Legislation Looks to Stop Blinking Lights on Wind Turbines

William Tuthill Bought a Fire Truck Out of His Own Pocket:

For the betterment of student learning, William Tuthill paid out-of-pocket for a local Mechanicsville fire truck that was about to be retired, per KCRG:

They put it up for bid out to the public and I decided to put up my money to be able to purchase this as a learning tool. Anamosa has been very supportive in that capacity [....] If we can capture their interest at the high school level, it’s more likely to transfer over to an interest at the adult level - William Tuthill, per KCRG

Tuthill is a volunteer firefighter, and he believes introducing students to the profession early could reverse an ongoing trend facing many fire departments. Most departments rely on volunteer firefighters, and are seeing a significant lack of willing/able recruits in recent years, per the National Fire Protection Association.

Having a fire truck the students can experiment with allows them to learn how to use a hose properly, fill a tank, and run the pump. Reading about it and watching videos is one thing. For many professions, there's no training quite like getting hands on with the equipment you're going to use on the actual job. It's far less significant in relation to firefighting, but I didn't learn how to host a radio show by reading books.

Read more about Anamosa's William Tuthill and his major act of generosity on KCRG's website.