By @NY Staff
Enterprise software company Ariba is sending a valentine to the New York City Fire Department by way of a new Seagrave Pumper fire truck for Squad 18.
Employees, families and friends associated with the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Ariba helped raise $350,000 for the water pumping truck and the squad, which lost seven men and its special operations vehicle during the collapse of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.
After the Fire Department Chaplain gives the new truck a formal blessing, the employees and associates of Ariba will help make the formal presentation to Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and members of Squad 18 today.
Since Sept. 11, the squad said it has been responding to fires and other emergencies with a 1988 Mack engine in order to compensate for the loss of its pumper, which was one of 92 fire trucks lost that day.
Michael Robertson, an Ariba employee who spearheaded the fund raising project, said it began almost immediately after the terrorist attacks.
The company’s fund-raising committee was determined to reach the fund-raising goal, he said, which was inspired by “courageous men and women lost during the unforgettable September 11 events.”
Over 340 New York Firefighters were lost that day.
Commissioner Scoppetta said the department wouldn’t forget Ariba’s kindness in the department’s time of need.
“The New York City Fire Department is grateful for the outpouring of support from the employees of Ariba.”
The Ariba employees, friends and associates held festivals, garage sales, auctions, raffles and competitions in order to raise the funds.
