| Going back to 1975 the members (and future members) of the Newtown Square Fire Company tour the chassis of the new ladder truck. The truck was driven from Appleton WI to Newtown Square by member Carl Ewing. Carl stated that “it was a bumpy ride.” The truck, which was designed to carry the heavy ladder, was empty and with no weight, the springs “did not flex” over the 938-mile trip recalled Carl.
The aerial device was installed by LTI in Lancaster and then returned to Peirce Manufacturing in Wisconsin for completion of the truck and compartments.
The cab and chassis arrived in primer red on the outside and with a red-painted interior. The truck was delivered in the fall of 1975 sporting the new colors of lime yellow and white, with a black painted interior. This was the first new ladder truck for Newtown Square costing an eye-dropping $120,000. This truck would be refurbished in 1986 for a cost of $195,000.00 and served the residents of Newtown Square until 2001.
This truck was in use by the Mount Carmel Fire Department in New Jersey, where they ironically had it painted red.
Our most recent ladder truck cost $1.2 million and was purchased in 2021.
In the photo left to right:
Steve Monahan (Future Member), Al Ross, Roger Mauger, Billy Manahan (Future Member, Jack Monahan, Timmy Monahan (Future Member, John Ford, Ben Mitchel, Chief Bob Allison, Bob Blithe.
The Newtown Square Fire Company has been an important member of this community for the last 108 years thanks to many community members who donated both time as a volunteer and with financial support. |
