Where`s the fire?: The next time a firetruck pulls up at Barat College in Lake Forest, students and passersby won`t need to look for smoke. The guy on the ladder won`t be there to fight a fire; he`ll just be washing windows. With $5,000 donated by Room 1871, an unusually named branch of the prestigious Chicago Club, Barat College just bought a 1963 Seagrave ladder truck from the Lake Forest Fire Department.
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”The college has been looking for something to help with windows and maintenance on the upper stories of our buildings. We are a very tall campus,” explained Dawn Tibbals, Barat`s director of public relations. When school authorities heard, through the grapevine, that Lake Forest had a used firetruck it wanted to sell, it seemed like the perfect solution to their window-washing problem.
Even better, Room 1871, a group that takes its name from the year of the great Chicago fire, stepped in with the cash to make the purchase. ”They`re very interested in firefighting memorabilia, so when they heard we wanted to buy the truck, they donated the money,” Tibbals said.
The truck was dedicated at a picnic May 2, with members of Room 1871 and their families in attendance. Before the truck is put to use, the Lake Forest Fire Department will also give the school`s maintenance personnel some training in the use of the engine and its ladders.