Fix The Antique Tiller Truck!

The Stockton Firefighters Union, IAFF Local 456, has privately owned and operated several antique apparatus for decades. One of our antiques is a 1958 Peter Pirsch tillered ladder truck. This union tiller has been a staple for gatherings and festivities for nearly 20 years since we purchased it. Local 456 has driven it for community events, fundraisers, union picnics, and many other outings. The most notable time you will see it is every Christmas season, when union members decorate the lengthy apparatus with lights and drive it through neighborhoods for the kids in the community. We even have a contact at the north pole- and are lucky to have Santa stop in to hand out candy canes from time to time. And Santa never misses when we donate our Stockton Fire Toy Drive toys to the Child Abuse Prevention Council. You always know that when you see that rig around town- its being operated by off-duty firefighters volunteering who care about serving our community.




We have sad news though. This Tuesday night, the 16th of December, the Union Tiller was involved in an accident. Thankfully no one was hurt! Two of our fire families had just dropped Santa off back at his sleigh at Company 2, and were headed to drive around one more neighborhood for the night. While traveling northbound on El Dorado at Miner, a suspected drunk driver traveling west bound ran a red light in front of the tiller. The truck was not able to stop in time and collided with the vehicle. As we said, thankfully- no one was hurt. The truck suffered front end damage. We will not be able to finish the last few nights of driving Santa around this year- and if we don’t figure out a way to fund fixing it, we may not be able to use it in the years ahead.




So we turn to the crowd-sourced fundraising of GoFundMe, and to you. Our friends, family, public, and other union members and firefighters. We need your help, however small. Any donation, or even a share of this fundraiser will help get this beautiful antique back on the road. All monies raised will go toward this truck and the apparatus program for Local 456. Let’s put 2020 behind us and get this fixed! So we can bring joy and happiness to the community of Stockton for years to come!