Mayor driving fire truck across state for repairs
Butler Mayor Tom Donaldson left early this morning to take the city fire department’s damaged ladder truck to a repair shop on the other side of the state.
Fire Chief Nick Ban said the hydraulic system on the truck was damaged early Monday morning while at a house fire on East Brady Street.
“The hydraulics are shot and will need replaced,” Ban told city council Tuesday night.
The repair shop is in Ephrata, Lancaster County, more than 4 hours from Butler.
“The mayor was gracious enough to volunteer to drive it over,” Ban said.
Donaldson has a commercial vehicle driver’s license. He worked as a truck driver for more than 36 years.
“I also was a volunteer firefighter in Evans City in the 1970s,” Donaldson said.
Donaldson said it is unknown how long it will take to get the truck back into working order.
In the meantime, the repair shop is giving Donaldson a return trip to Butler.
