Man Trying to Donate Fire Truck to the City of Detroit: MyFoxDETROIT.com
Joe Rippolone restored a fire truck and wants to give it to the Detroit Fire Department. According to MyFoxDetroit.com, the department wants it, but the mayor's office needs to approve it. MyFoxDetroit.com says Rippolone hasn't heard back from the Mayor's office in three weeks.
"This truck needs to be on the road saving lives, and we could get other equipment, too. There's ambulances out there and there's other firefighting equipment. Help save lives. We're ready," Rippolone said.
As Charlie LeDuff with MyFoxDetroit.com points out, during those three weeks, a young girl died in a fire — the same blaze FireTruckBlog.com told you about last week: "TV Station: Union says Detroit apparatus problems caused delays in rescuing child from house fire."
Read the full story on MyFoxDetroit.com here.
Joe Rippolone was married from 1996 to 2008 to Elena Ford the great, great grandaughter of Henry Ford. The fire truck he wants to donate to Detroit, formerly from the Getzville Fire Company in Erie County, New York, used to rile Rippolone's neighbors when it was parked at the couple's Grosse Point, Michigan home. Obviously the rig is not worth the $1 million mentioned in the TV story.
To a certain extent, I can see the city's hesitation. After the crap pulled by the last few mayors — especially Kwame Kilpatrick — it makes sense for the city to take a good hard look at something that might appear "too good to be true." The corruption in Detroit politics is well-known, and if Mayor Bing really is trying to clean things up (as opposed to cleaning up for himself as Kilpatrick and the others did), he should be cautious. Yes, the city is in very tough shape, and people are dying, but you simply CANNOT go rushing into something blind.
Three weeks is MORE than enough time to figure out if you want it or not.
If Detroit don't want it I am sure a quick vote of our dept. board and we would take it.
This story is a non-story. Its very nice that the citizen wants to help the FD. But this unit is not suited for urban usage, it doesn’t have a 4 door cab, it would be the only one of its kind in the DFD fleet, and it really doesn’t fit the needs of a major urban department. Before the TV station ran with this story, it would have been nice if they checked a little bit and determined if the donated unit would actually assist the department.
Thanks to the nice citizen, but donate the truck somewhere that it will be appreciated.
… If for whatever reason the City Of Detroit cannot/will not accept the offer of this generous citizen,.. please contact me. I know of a department just over the state line in Indiana that would be more than happy to accept such a generous gift….. I will even goso far as to post my e-mail in this to prove my sincerity… Thank You.
stevens.jim68@gmail.com
A few years back when DC was in a pinch, the Chief Tippett bought 2 Old Tiller Trucks from Richmond. Those trucks were not like anything else the city had at the time, but were pressed into service. Canopy cab and non-NFPA, they worked great and were just what the doctor ordered. If that Tower can pass inspection and a ladder test, put it in service!
It's a 1983 rig & not NFPA compliant. Maybe someone in the DFD administration understands not only the liability of putting their guys in it on the street, but also how long it would last in a busy city environment. Think any of their mechanics have much experience working on 1983 Grumann platforms…or where to get parts for that matter?
I just wanna say that to the guys that say the truck cant be used in this city, cause it doesnt have 4 doors or its not suited for urban use, whats it good for then? IT RUNS AN WORKS unlike most of the fleet in the city! Take it an use it, an then when u dont need it anymore donate it to someone that can use it. Like Marines say! Adapted an over come, firefighters have to do the same at every call. So if you get a different pieace of equipment thats not like your fleet u Adapted. Case in point! FDNY 9/11/01 over 100 pieaces of equipment damaged or distroyed, but that city didnt turn down an single donated truck that wasnt even to there specs. No they used them all an when finally a replacement truck came in, those donated trucks where put into reserve or donated or sold or even retooled to be part of the FDNY fleet. So again Take an Use what u can get an when u dont need it anymore do the right thing!
Spoken like true union nfpa sucking piss ants. You know fires went out before nfpa and firemen still get hurt well after they publish their self-sustaining standards? You preach about standards not even written by firemen, but by salesmen! They don’t give two damns if you live or you die, they just want to make money and make rules to force you to buy objects we’ve lived without for years, and all the iaff does is back them right up! Ive had it with people saying ‘union brothers’. They aren’t your brothers, the administration would throw you right under the bus for themselves and ten stinking dollars. So cut it with the whiney bs and support them taking the truck. Their not only lucky to have it, but to have the job riding it in the first place.
I guess what the final message is here is to get over yourselves. Your lucky you have a job. This economy can’t and more then likely wont tolerate the union and nfpa mindset as of late. I agree with the everybody goes home principle, but what we forget sometimes as a collective group is that we really don’t have any control over weither we go home on our two feet, or in a box. Thats usually decided by powers much higher than any pay grade we have in the fire service.
I am a Chief in a small rural volunteer Tennessee department and I could show you how fast I could agree on receiving a needed donation like that in our area. There are many departments around the country with limited budgets that survive soley on donations that could use the apparatus. I would give my eye teeth for someone to offer me a donation like that