OWENS CROSS ROADS, AL -- People here are beaming this afternoon as word gets around that the town's volunteer fire department just won a new $170,000 pumper truck.

"I'm so on Cloud 9 right now," former fire chief Garland Elders said a few minutes ago. "It's awesome."

E-One, a fire engine manufacturer based in Florida, sponsored the contest to give away a free pumper to a deserving rural fire department that got the most online votes.

More than 600 U.S. fire departments submitted essays to the company, and Owens Cross Roads was one of seven finalists.

The voting ended at 1 p.m. today. Owens Cross Roads Fire Chief Dan Kelly heard the good news firsthand just after 3 p.m. at the International Association of Fire Chiefs convention in Chicago.

Elders said the new truck will be dedicated to the memory of Robert M. Maples, who helped found the fire department in 1958.

"We loved him dearly," Elders said. "This is all about him."