MADISON, Ala. — A new apparatus, one of very few in the entire state called Tower 512 is here to service at what Monrovia Volunteer Fire/Rescue calls a critical time of unprecedented growth. Monrovia Fire Public Information Officer Lt. James Filley explained that it is a Pierce aerial 100 foot platform.
"Obviously, Clift Farm played a huge role in why we purchased this equipment. In the last two years, we've had about 25 three-story or more structures built in our jurisdiction. And all of those are going to be multifamily units. So having this capability, it's very necessary. But it's going to provide a greater service for our broader community as well."
For Firefighter/EMT James Rountree, this new apparatus is not the only celebration. It is also the first day of his aerial class training. "It's going to be approximately 40 hours of hands-on and classroom training with a major focus on the hands on training. We're getting a lot of unique experiences from surrounding departments. We're very lucky to have them join us to train and we're going to have a very specialized group of people that will be responding on this and coming to calls that increases our capabilities exponentially of what we're able to do on the fire scene."
Lieutenant Grant Thornton believes this ladder truck will also be beneficial for their neighboring county departments. "In the past when we had fires that have either gotten away or we've needed a water larger water suppression system, we've had to request either Madison or Huntsville Fire Department for their ladder truck to respond. so us being able to utilize our own ladder truck now is going to help us out."