Do you recall the story above where Detroit TV reporter Charlie LeDuff shows off a 1983 tower ladder that a man who was formerly married to an heir of Henry Ford wants to donate to the city? Well, Joe Rippolone got his wish. The City Council has agreed to accept the rig and it is expected to be turned over Thursday.

Despite the age of the truck, Detroit Fire Commissioner Donald Austin has said it is a donation worth accepting after Austin and the department's chief mechanic checked it out. From WWJ-TV:

“Mr. Rippolone was kind enough to give us a ride around four or five blocks. We raised the aerial ladder which is 105 feet in length,” said Austin.

“It has 23,000 original miles … $50,000 or Mr. Rippolone’s money went into rebuilding the hydraulics, the suspension …  it is a very strong apparatus and it will help serve the citizen well,” Austin said.

WJBK-TV's LeDuff said in a September 22 column titled Detroit Government: What's It Going to Take to Wake You Up? that the donation was offered a week before a young girl died in a house fire where the first two engines were out of service because of mechanical problems. A mini-pumper with a non-working pump responded to that fire and firefighters were delayed because of a lack of water and a ladder. Here's more from LeDuff's column:

There is no piece of equipment in the Detroit fleet that has less mileage than Rippolone’s truck.

In fact, there are 12 ambulances, six ladder trucks, three fire engines and two squad trucks sitting in disrepair at the fire repair garage.

So impressed was the fire commissioner, he put in paperwork the very next day to Mayor Dave Bing’s office to accept the truck. Bing’s office waited a week before it sent its approval to the city clerk — two days after the toddler died, mind you.

Now, with the former rig of New York's Getzville Fire Department finding a new home, it remains to be seen if it's up to the rigors of Detroit.