Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Minutes before climbing into the driver's seat of a new platform quint fire truck Tuesday afternoon, Donnie Mosby said working with the Evansville Fire Department was his late father's passion.
The new nearly $1 million vehicle was dedicated Tuesday to his father, Dennis R. Mosby, a retired Evansville Fire Department inspector and former co-director of Evansville Vanderburgh Central Dispatch who died in October after a long battle with muscular dystrophy.
"I'm happy to know he'll have this honor that will carry on his name," Donnie Mosby told the Evansville Courier & Press (http://bit.ly/1nbwd4A ).
Inside the Ford Center, the fire department christened the new fire truck — now the largest in the city. It will be housed at Hose House 8 on North Kentucky Avenue, and replaces the city's old platform quint.
A quint is a vehicle that meets five requirements from the National Fire Protection Association, which include having an aerial ladder, several ground ladders, water tank, pump and hose.
At a cost of $942,000, the new truck can pump 2,000 gallons per minute, has a 500 horsepower diesel engine and has a 100-foot ladder with a distinctive platform basket — the only platform quint in the city's fire fleet.
From the platform to the wheels, Evansville firefighter Ron Goedde said, Chief Mike Connelly let the crew at Hose House 8 "put their two cents in" on the new quint before it was built in Holden, La.
"It's an honor, really, that the city spent this kind of money on this. This city needs it," Goedde said.
Dennis Mosby, whose name is emblazoned along both sides of the new truck, worked for the Evansville Fire Department for 23 years before retiring in 2003, five years after being diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. He died at his home in October.
Many members of the Mosby family were at the dedication Tuesday, including City Councilwoman Missy Mosby, Dennis' cousin.
The Mosby family is deeply rooted in both the city's past and the fire department's history. Dennis' brother, David Mosby, was a former city councilman, county commissioner and fire department captain. Their uncle Billy was an Evansville firefighter, as was Dennis' father-in-law. Dennis' father, Norman "Red" Mosby, was a longtime Perry Township trustee and a renowned member of the county's Democratic Party.
"(Dennis) was just like the rest of his family, he was just a dedicated man and loved the fire service," said Goedde. "He loved to serve, that was his life."
After having to retire early from muscular dystrophy, Donnie Mosby said it was hard on his dad.
"He was facing the definite future of the disease and then not getting to go and work with the brothers and sisters he created through the time with the fire department," he said.
Even after leaving the fire department, his fire "family" stuck with his dad, visiting often and lending a hand when needed, he said.
___
Information from: Evansville Courier & Press, http://www.courierpress.com
This is an AP Member Exchange shared by the Evansville Courier & Press.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
