Local Organizations Help Fund Superior Fire Truck

In 2021, the Superior Fire Department's ladder truck will no longer be compliant with national regulations and a new one needs to be purchased for more than a million dollars and now, one business and the City of Superior have stepped up to help buy a new one. 

SUPERIOR, Wis. – In 2021, the Superior Fire Department’s ladder truck will no longer be compliant with national regulations and a new one needs to be purchased for more than a million dollars and now, one business and the City of Superior have stepped up to help buy a new one.

4,000. That’s how many calls the Superior Fire Department receives every year to meet the needs of those in the community, and in January 2021, one of their most important pieces of equipment, their ladder truck, will no longer be compliant with national regulations but now, the city is ponying up a million dollars while thousands more are coming from local businesses to make sure the department gets a new truck.

One of those businesses stepping up is Husky Energy, who donated $50,000 to help the department become even more efficient with how they reach people.

Staff from the department say they are overwhelmed with the generosity coming from the community.

“Pretty proud of this moment,” said Scott Gordon, the fire chief for the City of Superior. “This is a pretty proud thing. We’re getting to a point where we are actually protecting all of our businesses in a way and we’re using the partnership to help that. Taxpayers are not paying, additional money, to have this truck be industrial friendly.”

The old 2005 ladder truck is 75 feet tall and was designed and paid for by tax dollars.

The new ladder truck will be able to do things that cannot be done by the traditional ladder truck. It will flow 25% more water than the current Engine-2 ladder and will also be able to reach 40% farther as well.

Husky Energy along with Enbridge and Plains Midstream make up the Superior Petroleum Partnership, and each of these entities will eventually contribute to the funding of this new ladder truck for a total of $200,000.

Leadership at Husky Energy say they are excited to continue this partnership with the fire department.

“Obviously being a part of this when they reached out to us and asked us to be a part of this, I think all three organizations were very proud to say you know hat we want to step forward, we want to be a part of this,” said Kollin Schade, a plant manager at Husky Energy. “Really looking forward to continuing this partnership and providing a more safe conduit for the community itself.”

It is worth noting the aging ladder truck is in working order and can safely be used now and through its so-called birthday of 15 years in January.

The fire chief adds that if they don’t have the new truck in time, they can still use the old one in January but it could cause insurance rates to go up.