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Mayor drives fire truck across state for repairs

Butler Mayor Tom Donaldson worked as a truck driver for more than 36 years and was a volunteer firefighter in Evans City in the 1970s.

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.

The mayor said he took the truck for a test drive around the city Tuesday.

“I haven't driven a straight truck like this in a long time,” he 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.

Ban said he has filed an insurance claim on the equipment. He expects the repairs to cost about $50,000.

Council hopes insurance will cover most of that cost because the truck was damaged on duty.

The truck was bought in 1998 for about $274,000. Ban said the truck, a demonstration model, has had its problems ever since then.

“We put in over $100,000 in repairs over 16 years,” he said.

A new base-model ladder truck would cost at least $700,000.

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