Excerpts from the DailyChronicle.com:
Dekalb Fire Department officials are holding a communitywide contest to name their new ladder truck and have selected three options for the public to vote on.
The department bought the replacement ladder truck for $420,000 last year with Northern Illinois University contributing $275,000 as part of its fire service agreement with the city.
Firefighters have been training on the new truck, and it will hit the streets around the beginning of May, after the name is revealed.
“Fire departments throughout the county do these sorts of things,” said Pat Erikson, DeKalb firefighter/paramedic and public relations coordinator. “We wanted to continue that tradition in DeKalb. … and to make the community as much a part of the tradition as we are.”
The three concepts the department have chosen are “ ‘RIP’ Roaring,” “Spirit of DeKalb” and “The Baron.”
The first concept is dedicated to former Fire Chief Albert “RIP” Riippi who grew up in DeKalb and played football with Northern Illinois University and joined the fire department in 1959 and retired as chief in 1986.
“Spirit of DeKalb” is meant to incorporate the entire community and what DeKalb stands for, Erikson said.
“The spirit of DeKalb is not just a phrase,” he wrote on the concept plan. “It’s a philosophy that embodies the members of the community and all the members of the DeKalb Fire Department.”
“The Baron” is dedicated to the city’s namesake Baron de Kalb, a French military officer and major general who served in the Continental Army during the revolutionary war.
Community members can vote on the city’s website at cityofdekalb.com. Voting is open through April 18.
thanks Dan
