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Detroit Fire Department facing equipment issues before July 4 holiday promises quick repairs

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Detroit Fire Department facing equipment issues before July 4 holiday promises quick repairs


DETROIT – Tuesday morning started with a radio call about the Detroit Fire Boat, which was still out of service ahead of the 4th of July holiday boating weekend.

Fire Boat 1: “Hello, it’s Fire Boat 1. Fire Boat 1 is still out of service.”

DFD operator: Fire Boat 1, you’re still out of service. We have the information.”

Adding to the morning’s challenges, the Detroit Fire Department faced a critical issue as a ladder truck was found to be missing its ladder, potentially hindering its ability to respond to emergencies.

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The first tip that Local 4 received was that Engine Company Ladder 25 of the Detroit Fire Department had broken equipment.

We started Tuesday (July 2) at 11 a.m. on the 15000 block of Greenfield Road after our insider told us their ladder truck was missing a ladder and it was broken.

Firefighters said they were worried for neighborhood residents, as they couldn’t do rescues.

Of course, we cannot talk to anyone about the situation, so we don’t want to jeopardize anyone’s job, but multiple people have confirmed they are missing a ladder truck.

It would be best to care about the matter, as you’d need a ladder for a high rescue situation.

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Tuesday morning started with a radio call about the Detroit Fire Boat, which was still out of service ahead of the 4th of July holiday boating weekend. (Copyright 2024 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.)

Another tip occurred around 12:45 p.m., but it’s not the only tip we got while we were on the Detroit Riverfront in front of a boat the DFD uses to fight fires when boars are on fire.

Sources said the boat was also missing equipment. We’re approaching the 4th of July holiday weekend when fireworks and boats will be the main attractions.

Tuesday morning started with a radio call about the Detroit Fire Boat, which was still out of service ahead of the 4th of July holiday boating weekend. (Copyright 2024 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.)

We emailed the city of Detroit at 2:35 p.m. Tuesday to ask about the missing equipment for the Detroit Fire Boat and Ladder 25, which has been missing its ladder truck for weeks.

Tuesday morning started with a radio call about the Detroit Fire Boat, which was still out of service ahead of the 4th of July holiday boating weekend. (Copyright 2024 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.)

At 3:53, the city responded, saying that Ladder 25 was repaired.

“Ladder 25 is repaired and going back into service now. It was a minor repair but required a part to be ordered on Monday and shipped overnight.”

Ladder 25 Director of General Services Department Crystal Perkins

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Detroit Fire Department Commissioner Chuck Simms said 12 other ladder trucks were in service in the city and could have been dispatched if needed.

“The General Services Department makes repairs to Fire apparatus and is working to expedite repairs on reserve engines, ambulances, rescue squads, and ladder trucks so that in the event a truck that is in service experiences an issue that takes it out of service, DFD has an immediate replacement at the ready.”

Detroit Fire Department Commissioner Chuck Simms

As for the Fire Boat being out of commission for weeks, we were told the primary pump is expected to be repaired on Wednesday, July 3, 2024, enabling the boat to be placed in service.

“DFD’s most versatile and most called upon fire boat is in service. This is the smaller, newer boat that would respond to fires at marinas or buildings close to the water. Our larger (and older) boat has been waiting on the delivery of a part to repair its pumps. It is expected the primary pump will be repaired on Wednesday, enabling the boat to be placed in service if needed. The secondary pump on the boat is expected to be repaired next week, returning it to full functionality.”

Detroit Fire Department Commissioner Chuck Simms

Tuesday morning started with a radio call about the Detroit Fire Boat, which was still out of service ahead of the 4th of July holiday boating weekend. (Copyright 2024 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.)

Good news for those who will be on the Detroit River: as for Ladder 25, it was about 5:20 p.m. Tuesday when we were notified that firefighters got the truck with the ladder and put it immediately into service on a run.

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Thanks to those who told us what was happening with Ladder 25 and the Detroit Fire Boat. If you have something you want Karen Drew to check out, email her at Kdrew@wdiv.com.

Tuesday morning started with a radio call about the Detroit Fire Boat, which was still out of service ahead of the 4th of July holiday boating weekend. (Copyright 2024 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.)

Copyright 2024 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.



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Detroit, MI

Bruce Campbell announces cancer diagnosis; ‘Fear not,’ he tells fans

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Bruce Campbell announces cancer diagnosis; ‘Fear not,’ he tells fans



Treatment will delay the Royal Oak-born actor’s plans to tour his new film ‘Ernie & Emma’ this summer.

Royal Oak-born movie star and cult hero Bruce Campbell announced on social media on Monday that he has been diagnosed cancer — a type that is “treatable” but not “curable,” he said.

“I apologize if that’s a shock — it was to me too,” the “Evil Dead” star, 67, wrote in a message posted to Instagram.

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He went on to say “I’m not gonna go into any more detail,” and he didn’t. He said the public announcement had to do with scaling back appearances on his schedule, including tour dates behind his latest film, “Ernie & Emma.”

Campbell planned to show the movie June 5 at the Redford Theatre; as of Monday night, that date is still on the Redford schedule, but Campbell wrote in his note he plans to get “as well as I possibly can over the summer so that I can tour with my new movie ‘Ernie & Emma’ this fall.”

The movie is written, directed by and stars Campbell as a man who goes on a journey following the death of his wife. Campbell produced the movie alongside his wife, Ida Gearon, and filmed it in Oregon, where he now lives.

Campbell told The News in January he dedicated “Ernie & Emma” to his childhood moviemaking pals, including Scott Spiegel, who died of a heart attack in September 2025.

“It’s a callback to the carefree days of Super 8, where we could do whatever the f–k we wanted to do,” Campbell said of “Ernie & Emma.” “So I thought, ‘All the boys are responsible for this,’ so they’re all in there.”

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Campbell got his start making movies around Metro Detroit with his childhood pal, Sam Raimi. Campbell starred in Raimi’s “Evil Dead” trilogy and has since appeared in most of Raimi’s films; Campbell makes a brief appearance in a photograph in the background of an early scene in Raimi’s latest, “Send Help.”

He’s also an author; Campbell’s autobiography “If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor” was published in 2001.

In his post on social media, Campbell thanked fans and said he was not out to elicit sympathy.

“Fear not, I am a tough old son-of-a-bitch and I have great support, so I expect to be around for a while,” he wrote.

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agraham@detroitnews.com





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Michigan State Police sends message to drivers after trooper involved in hit and run:

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Michigan State Police sends message to drivers after trooper involved in hit and run:


“Slow down and move over” is the message that Michigan State Police is sending to drivers after one of its troopers in a parked patrol car was struck while investigating a crash this weekend. The driver of that vehicle fled the scene.

Michigan State Police tells CBS News Detroit that we’re two months into the year, and it has had six incidents across the state where patrol cars were struck by oncoming vehicles. One of those incidents occurred on Sunday evening.

“Could have been much more tragic,” said MSP Lieutenant Rene Gonzalez, First District public information officer.

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Michigan State Police


Gonzalez says on Sunday, an MSP trooper was near M-10 and Schaefer Highway in Detroit, simply doing his job, when his patrol car was hit from behind.

“Trooper was out there, and he was investigating a crash when, at the time, a Jeep SUV drove into the rear of the parked vehicle,” Gonzalez said.

The impact slid the trooper’s car into a concrete wall. The 29-year-old Detroit woman driving the Jeep SUV struck the center median, got out of the vehicle, and ran away.

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“Not sure why they did it. Maybe not paying attention if they were distracted. They’re attempting to locate her at this time,” said Lt. Gonzalez.

The trooper walked away with minor injuries. Gonzalez says this incident is an example of why Michigan’s Move Over Law was put in place many years ago. The law, which went into effect in 2019, requires drivers to move over into the next lane and reduce their speed by at least 10 mph when emergency or service vehicles — police, fire, rescue, ambulance and road service — have their lights activated. 

Drivers who are not able to move over are still required to reduce their speed.

“Trying to do our jobs, however, people are not paying attention. The law is easy. It’s simple. You see us, you see our lights activated, you have to slow down ten miles below the posted speed limit, and then if able, move over to the next occupied available lane,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez says crashes like this can be deadly and often avoided.

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“One life lost over something that was a totally preventable crash, it’s way too much. We’re asking that you slow down and move over when you see our lights. It’s a simple message that we’ve been pushing out for years,” he said.

Sunday’s crash remains under investigation. Michigan State Police detectives are still working to track down the 29-year-old suspect.

In the meantime, police are out enforcing the Move Over Law.



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Rex Satterfield’s 1956 Bel Air takes 2026 Ridler Award in Detroit

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Rex Satterfield’s 1956 Bel Air takes 2026 Ridler Award in Detroit


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Rex Satterfield hoped to see his 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible snag one of the BASF Great 8 finalist spots at this year’s Detroit Autorama. But winning the Ridler Award — one of the highest honors in the custom car business — was something he didn’t foresee.

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“It’s just overwhelming right now,” said the man from Russellville, Tennessee, as he left a ballroom at downtown’s Huntington Place and made his way back to the show floor on Sunday, March 1. “We weren’t expecting this.”

Getting a car recognized as one of the BASF Great 8 vehicles is a win in and of itself as they are considered the “absolute pinnacle of custom automotive craftsmanship worldwide,” according to the show. The cars undergo an intensive judging process.

And this effort had an unexpected and emotional complication with the passing in December 2024 of the original builder, Jeff Wolfenbarger, who was battling cancer even as he continued working on the car named “Elegant Lady.”

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Kevin Riffey of Kevin Riffey’s Hot Rods and Restorations in Knoxville stepped in to finish the work Wolfenbarger started. He’d had two other cars in the past make the Great 8. He said the goal with this vehicle was straightforward, calling it a “purpose-built show car.”

From its prominent spot at the front of the show floor, “Elegant Lady” sported a creamy exterior, dubbed Light Coffee. The car carries a 1,000 horsepower Don Hardy race engine. The gauges, wheels and gas tank are custom, and the dash is from a 1956 Pontiac.

Satterfield plans to show the car around some and enjoy the moment with it. He said he’s been a car guy since he was a little kid.

The Ridler Award, named in honor of Detroit Autorama’s first publicist, Don Ridler, comes with a $10,000 prize. It was awarded on the final day of this year’s Detroit Autorama, which ran Friday, Feb. 27-Sunday, March 1. This was the event’s 73rd year.

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Eric D. Lawrence is the senior car culture reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Send your tips and suggestions about cool automotive stuff to elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.



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