BLUFFTON, S.C. () – Some Lowcountry students put their skills to work to help a local fire department have better organization during times of crisis.

Welding students from May River High School put nearly 80 hours of work into the brand-new rigging for a Bluffton Fire Department truck.

They didn’t just work on the metal; they helped design and even improve the equipment before officially installing it Friday.

Thanks to their work, the rack fits perfectly inside the truck.

It’s designed to organize their equipment better and give firefighters easy access the tool they need when they arrive at a fire.

“In an emergency situation. Accessibility and rapid deploying ability is of the essence,” Bluffton Firefighter Matt Ortiz said. “The fact that we are more organized now because of their efforts. We couldn’t be any happier. The students involved knocked it out of the park and absolutely exceeded our expectations for what they built and created. “

Three different welding classes contributed their time and ideas to the project.

The students said they loved the challenge presented to them and loved the chance to help local first responders.

“I didn’t really have any details, but just seeing what the fire department does every day, how they save lives or risking their lives every day, I decided I want to take advantage and help them,” said Shawn Wasserman, May River welding student. “It made me so happy seeing that other people appreciate the work that we do here, even though we’re only high schoolers. We still tried our hardest on this, and I’m happy that the way it turned out.”

The money for the equipment came through the Bluffton Fire Foundation.

While this was made for just one truck, the hope is to replicate the student’s creation for other trucks in the future.