Honoring a man and a tradition
FDFD remembers Peart with new truck
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Anyone passing by the Fort Dodge firehouse on a recent evening may have spotted something they thought was odd – a group of people pushing a massive truck backwards into the building.
What they saw was a traditional fire department ceremony that welcomed a new rig, and honored the memory of Firefighter Tom Peart, who died at age 48 on March 14, 2024.
The vehicle, called a tower ladder, is called Truck 25 because 25 was Peart's badge number.
By giving the truck that designation "we ensure that his name and legacy remain part of this Fire Department," Fire Chief Matt Price said during a Thursday event attended by firefighters, the Peart family and city officials.
"Today we want everyone to know that Tom has not been forgotten and will always be a part of the Fort Dodge Fire Department," he said.
There were many meetings within the Fire Department about designing, equipping and using the tower ladder. Price said that during one of those meetings, someone brought up the idea of calling it Truck 25 in honor of Peart.
Peart was a Marine Corps veteran who joined the department in 1991 and had put in 22 years of service before he died of an apparent heart attack.
Price said Peart was known for his sense of humor and his ability to bring people together. He said those are important traits for people working 24-hour shifts in a firehouse.
Truck 25 has a boom that extends 100 feet into the air. At the end of that boom is a bucket equipped with a large nozzle where firefighters stand to make rescues and attack fires. It has a pump that can move 2,000 gallons of water a minute. It also has a 300 gallon water tank for putting out small fires. It is powered by a diesel engine with a nearly 600 horsepower capacity.
The truck actually arrived in Fort Dodge in April.
The ceremony was delayed in order to get the truck fully into service and to find a time that was agreeable to the Peart family.
According to Price, the tradition of pushing in a truck dates to the days when firefighters used horse-drawn equipment. He said when those firefighters returned to the station after a call, they had to unhook the horses and push the apparatus into the building.
The tradition of pushing in a new truck, he said, demonstrates teamwork, unity and pride.
Prior to it being pushed into the station, Truck 25 was splashed with some water. Members of the Peart family plus firefighters and retired firefighters who worked with Peart then wiped it down.
Since Truck 25 far outweighs any horse-drawn hook and ladder wagon, its big diesel engine did the work when it came time to push it into the station. Peart family members and firefighters put their hands on the front of the truck as it backed into its garage bay.