GODFREY - The Godfrey Fire Protection District celebrated the addition of a new ladder truck with a traditional push-in ceremony.
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On Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, firefighters, Godfrey Fire Protection District trustees, and Godfrey Mayor Mike McCormick manually pushed the new firetruck into the fire station to mark the beginning of its service. The new fire truck has a 78-foot-tall ladder and a pump that delivers 2,000 gallons a minute, and Chief Eric Cranmer believes it will serve the Godfrey community well.
“My feeling has always been that Godfrey is big enough. We shouldn’t have to call for Alton or Wood River for a ladder truck in the event we need it,” Cranmer said. “We have a great relationship with the village. It’s only going to get better from here. We’re 36 square miles, over 18,000 people. We run about 2,500 calls a year. For a small community, we’re relatively busy.”
Cranmer explained that the Godfrey Fire Protection District previously had a ladder truck, but they’ve been without since 2010. They often must call on other fire departments to use their ladder truck. With the new truck, they can attend to fires at any commercial building or large house.
The new 2024 truck replaces a 2009 truck, which will be sold. The firefighters plan to pull equipment from the 2009 truck and create a “dedicated rescue truck,” which will be dispatched to car crashes. The new fire truck will be strictly used for structure fires and other fire calls.
On Oct. 27, the firefighters celebrated the new truck with a push-in ceremony. This ceremony dates back to the 1890s when firefighters would push a new horse-drawn wagon into the fire station. Cranmer noted that it’s important to the Godfrey Fire Protection District to honor this tradition, though he joked that he gave the firefighters a little help by pressing on the gas.
“It’s too heavy to physically push in, so we had to cheat a little bit,” he laughed. “Fire service is really history-driven, so that’s where it comes from. We’re carrying it on. It’s cool, and everybody’s having a good time with it.”
Mayor Mike McCormick pointed out that while the Godfrey Fire Protection District is a separate entity from the Village of Godfrey, the two organizations have a close bond. He commended Cranmer and his firefighters for the work they do to protect the Village of Godfrey.
“The Village of Godfrey supports the fire district so well that a few years back, we actually paid for a fire truck,” McCormick explained. “I think we all need to work together to make a better Godfrey, to make a more safe community for people to live in.”
Godfrey Fire Protection District Board of Trustees President Matt Horn echoed McCormick. He noted that the relationship between the village and the district is an important part of the work they do. He also pointed out that Godfrey has a great new fire station, and he believes the new ladder truck is an important addition.
“It’s the great leadership of the fire chief and the mayor,” Horn said. “The citizens of Godfrey have a better place because of the great relationship they forged. We were in two outdated, outmoded fire stations, equipment that was breaking down. We have everything state of the art now, and this [ladder truck] is the icing on the cake.”
For more information about the Godfrey Fire Protection District, visit their official website at GodfreyFire.com.
