Tower 7 receiving repairs

No one is a immune from a little car trouble now and then, not even those of us who depend on the big red rigs that get us to the next fire, medical emergency, or special rescue.

That’s why we’re especially grateful for our friends at the City of Madison Bureau Of Maintenance. Every day, their expertise in repairing and maintaining ambulances and fire apparatuses keeps our 86 on-duty responders available and able to safely get to the next person who needs our help.

This week, Tower Ladder 7 had a coolant hose break while returning from a call on the west side. Ken Dalton and Tom Johnson from the Bureau Of Maintenance came out to meet us and replace the damaged hose on site so we could get back into service as soon as possible.

Tower 7 under the good

Having Ken and Tom come out to our location not only saved us from getting towed, it also spared us from having to switch over to a reserve fire apparatus, which takes time and often takes the crew temporarily out of territory. These “reserve” rigs are older fire trucks used by the department whenever the mainline rigs are receiving routine maintenance or a more significant repair. We would much rather stay with our mainline rigs, which are newer, safer, and generally more reliable.

Ken and Tom are part of the City Of Madison Fleet Service Division, but they’re dedicated solely to working on fire trucks and ambulances. They truly “keep us going,” and are unsung heroes within the Department.

Thank you, Ken and Tom, for all you do! Your work is essential in our community, and it doesn't go unnoticed!

Safety Reminder For Motorists

This experience serves as an important reminder to all motorists to slow down and move over when driving past emergency vehicles parked along the side of the road. Not only is it the law, but it also makes it much easier and safer for us to do the work we need to do in order to help the public.

Tower 7's damage hose
Broken coolant hose

Apparatus Engineer Andrew Marcin contributed to this blog.

This content is free for use with credit to the City of Madison - Fire and a link back to the original post.

Category: General, Station 7