It has taken six years, hundreds of hours of labor and love, and over $300,000 in donations, but the nonprofit Last Alarm Foundation, Inc. is proud to announce the restoration completion of our 1954 Mack-L Fire Truck that will be used to transport firefighters to their final resting place.
The apparatus features a custom built casket lift system that can raise a firefighter safely above the hosebed for display during the traditional fallen hero funeral procession ceremony. This one-of-a-kind fire truck also will be made available free of charge to any Arizona public safety official or Make-A-Wish Foundation recipient who requests the use of the vehicle for a Last Alarm ride.
Deputy Chief James R. Russell, who passed away on March 8, 2010, will become the first individual to have the Last Alarm ride on the vehicle. Jim’s son, Tom Russell, has been patiently holding his dad’s ashes at his home in anticipation of this honor. This is a fitting tribute to Russell’s 30 years of dedication to the Tucson Fire Department and his contributions as a founding Last Alarm Foundation board member and original Restoration Director.
The Last Alarm Foundation, Tucson Fire Department, Local 479, and the Russell Family invite you to attend the official christening of this magnificent vehicle and this special tribute to James R. Russell and all our fallen brothers and sisters of public safety.
Date: Friday, December 16th, 2011
Place: Adair Funeral Home (1050 N. Dodge Boulevard)
Time: 9:00 AM – Christening Ceremony; 9:15 AM – Procession to Holy Hope Cemetery Begins (3555 N. Oracle Road); 10:00 AM – Gravesite service (Officiating will be Retiree Chaplin Scott McKinny)
We invite you for refreshments at the Tucson Fire Union Hall (Station 2), 2264 E. Benson Hwy.
For more information, contact the Last Alarm Foundation (520)305-1263.