MOREHEAD, Ky. — A Central Kentucky towing company recently went the extra mile, quite literally, to support Rowan County's first responders by transporting a fire truck from New York to the Elliottville Volunteer Fire Department at no charge.
Jade Light & Heavy Duty Towing & Recovery, headquartered in Berea with an established terminal in Morehead, provided a heavy-duty wrecker to retrieve the fire truck and bring it to Rowan County.
The Elliottville Volunteer Fire Department serves the Christy Creek area of Rowan County, where volunteer firefighters provide essential emergency services to residents.
Nick Lawson, a Jade Towing operator based in Morehead, contacted The Morehead Minute to share the story and highlight the company's commitment to supporting local first responders.
The long-distance transportation represented a significant contribution, eliminating what could otherwise have been a substantial expense for the volunteer department.
More Than Just a Berea Business
Although Jade Towing is headquartered in Berea, Lawson explained that the company maintains a local presence in Morehead, something many Rowan County residents may not realize.
According to Lawson, Jade operates a terminal near Good Shepherd along West Main Street in Morehead.
The location was strategically selected because of Morehead's accessibility to Eastern Kentucky and neighboring states.
"They put a terminal here because Morehead was an ideal spot," Lawson explained. "We get a lot of heavy calls in West Virginia for our heavy truck."
Lawson said he and fellow operator Luke Goforth are the company's two Morehead-area drivers.
Goforth primarily handles heavy-duty hauling, while Lawson operates a rollback truck for smaller vehicles, accident recovery and AAA service calls.
Both men bring considerable experience to their work.
"I have close to 11 years experience and Luke has around the same or more," Lawson said, emphasizing that both are seasoned towing professionals.
Their experience allows the company to handle a variety of assignments, from routine roadside assistance to complicated heavy-duty recovery and transportation operations.
A Company That Goes the Distance
Jade's trip to New York was hardly its first assignment requiring extensive travel.
According to Lawson, the company operates multiple heavy-duty wreckers and rollback trucks, allowing it to serve customers well beyond its Central Kentucky headquarters.
Lawson recalled traveling as far as Detroit, Michigan, for assignments, while other company operators have worked in Florida and Georgia.
The company's willingness to travel considerable distances, combined with its specialized equipment, made it well-suited for the undertaking involving the Elliottville fire truck.
Supporting Those Who Answer the Call
For volunteer fire departments, obtaining and maintaining emergency apparatus can present considerable financial challenges.
Fire trucks are specialized vehicles, and transporting one across several states requires equipment and expertise that most volunteer departments do not possess.
By providing its transportation services without charge, Jade Towing helped remove one of the logistical and financial obstacles involved in bringing the truck to Rowan County.
The company's contribution also illustrates how private businesses can support emergency services in ways that extend beyond traditional financial donations.
For Elliottville's volunteer firefighters, the assistance provided by Jade represented one more example of the community partnerships that help sustain rural emergency services.
While the company routinely provides towing and recovery services to motorists and commercial customers, this particular assignment carried an additional purpose: helping those who respond when others need assistance.
Serving Morehead and Beyond
Lawson hopes the project will also help Rowan County residents become more familiar with Jade's local operations.
With experienced drivers stationed in Morehead, a local terminal and a fleet capable of handling everything from passenger vehicles to heavy commercial equipment, the company continues to maintain a presence in the region.
Although its headquarters are in Berea, Jade's work for Elliottville demonstrated its connection to Rowan County and its willingness to support the people who serve the community.
The successful transportation of the fire truck from New York serves as a reminder that sometimes helping local first responders means lending the right equipment, the right expertise and a willingness to travel a few hundred miles to get the job done.
Residents can learn more about the company by visiting Jade Light & Heavy Duty Towing & Recovery on Facebook.
Photo Credits and Disclosure: The original photograph of the heavy-duty wrecker was provided courtesy of The Jade Company. The original fire truck photograph was provided courtesy of the Elliottville Fire Department. The Morehead Minute used artificial intelligence to combine these photographs into an illustrative composite showing a Jade wrecker transporting the fire truck. The resulting image is a representation of the transportation operation and is not an actual photograph of the completed trip.