Tower 1 now in service

Tower 1 now in service

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The Sikeston Department of Public Safety has a new fire truck in service.

Tower 1, a 2002 E-One 95-foot tower truck, went into service Monday, replacing Ladder 1 that is no longer in service.

“The reason they call it a tower platform is because it has a bucket on the end of the ladder, so they call it a tower truck instead of a ladder truck,” said Sikeston DPS Sgt. James Whitley.

Sikeston City Council approved purchasing the truck in May for $185,000 from Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus. The truck had 34,000 miles and should serve the city for years.

The truck replaces the 2001 E-One ladder that was involved in an accident and totaled by insurance. The city received $100,017.50 in the insurance settlement that went toward funding the truck.

The ladder on the truck reaches 95 feet, giving it the ability to reach the tops of all buildings in Sikeston, including the newly built Hampton Inn. With this ability, the new apparatus could help toward lowing Sikeston’s ISO score.

Whitley said with the truck being a tandem axle it can be difficult to maneuver around some of the smaller streets in Sikeston, which took some getting used to.

“It’s a lot different as far as operating, driving, and placing that apparatus versus the one’s we’ve had in the past,” said Austin Novak of Sikeston DPS.

The tower truck is the only one in the area south of Cape and north of Kennett.

“It’s not only valuable to our city, it’s valuable to the area,” Novak said. 

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