A fire at the City of Nowata’s public works facility destroyed tractors, vehicles and other city equipment on January 14th.

City officials said the building, along with everything inside it, was a total loss. The fire left the city without essential tools to maintain the streets, water and sewer systems or even the cemetery.

A week later, the City of Broken Arrow stepped up to help Nowata recover.

On January 22nd, the Broken Arrow City Council approved the transfer of a mini excavator to Nowata. City officials said the equipment had reached the end of its useful lifecycle for BA and had more than 7,000 of operation, but could still be useful for Nowata.

“To be able to give back to another Oklahoma community, it’s just the right thing to do.” City Manager Michael Spurgeon told KRMG.

A city spokesman explained to KRMG the mini excavator is being transferred to the City of Nowata in exchange for help with a future project in Broken Arrow.

The equipment was loaded and hauled to Nowata Wednesday morning.