The Dalton Fire Department will host a ceremony Monday at 10 a.m. to launch a new fire truck into service. The ceremony at Station #1 at 404 School Street will be called the Community Investment Celebration and will include presentations from the Dalton Chamber of Commerce, Shaw Industries, and Dalton leaders. The public is invited to attend.
Monday morning’s celebration will include a retirement ceremony for Tower 1, the fire department’s aerial apparatus truck which has been in service since 1987. The new Tower 1 will also be officially put into service. The new tower is a 2013 model 100-foot aerial apparatus manufactured by the Sutpen Corporation in Amlin, Ohio. The truck costs $1,188,602 and is being financed interest free over the next five years.
The ceremony will feature several traditional touches, such as pumping water from the old Tower 1 into the new Tower 1 and the ringing of the fire bell to start the new truck’s service. The celebration will also feature remarks on community investment from Mayor David Pennington, Chamber of Commerce CEO Brian Anderson, Shaw Industries Risk Management Director Bill Whitmire, and Steve Williams from the McCamy Law Firm. The new truck represents a significant investment by the city for Dalton’s economic development and growth. The Dalton Fire Department’s designation as an ISO 2 firefighting agency and the department’s aerial apparatuses are both important parts of attracting new industry to Dalton and keeping existing industry in town.
The old Tower 1 will be retired from service but is being kept by the DFD as a reserve apparatus. It will be given a new designation after being retired.
The Dalton Public Safety Commission is comprised of Chairman William B. Weaver, Carlos Calderin, Terry Mathis, Keith Whitworth, and Kenneth E. Willis.