The Houghton Family Foundation, via the Tipton Community Foundation, purchased a new Ford F-550 fire truck for the Tipton Rural Fire Department in 2023-24, with Truck 203 as the official call sign and title. It is a quick-attack vehicle for fires in rural and city areas. Grass fires are one of the common calls in which it will be used. Blanchat Industries of Harper, KS, assembled the truck; they specialize in fire fighting vehicles for rural areas. The quick-attack truck, like Truck 203, is one of their many models. It carries a 600-gallon water tank and a 23-horsepower pump that can be operated from the front or rear.

During a focus group meeting between community leaders and the Houghton Family Foundation Board in late July of 2023, it was determined that a pressing community need was to replace a nearly 40-year-old brush fire truck that was still in use by the Tipton Fire Department. After looking into new and used equipment, it was quickly evident to everyone involved that used equipment was vastly overpriced, and the best use of dollars would be to contract and purchase a newly manufactured brush fire truck.

As a private 501c3 nonprofit, the Houghton Family Foundation can only donate to charitable projects through government-approved nonprofit organizations, such as Tipton Community Foundation, which is a community-directed 501c3 nonprofit.