The fathers and sons who help build many of Philly’s fire trucks

When Kendrick Weaver was a little boy, he believed his dad, Ken Weaver, had the coolest job in the world.

“I remember being in school and telling my friends, ‘My dad builds fire trucks,’” the younger Weaver said. “Not many kids can say, ‘On weekends, I can go play around fire trucks.’ I definitely remember bragging dad up. I thought he was a great guy. He built this lifesaving equipment.

I wanted to be like dad.”

Fast forward: Ken Weaver, 64, is still building fire trucks. He’s the manufacturing/engineering manager for Ladder Tower, a Ephrata, Pa., company that supplies fire vehicles — particularly high-ladder apparatuses — to fire departments all over the country, including Philadelphia, and abroad.

Kendrick Weaver never lost his fire truck fascination. Now 35, he works with his father as the fabrication department production lead.

“I absolutely love my job,” Kendrick said.

“There’s not one day I dread coming to work, knowing what I’m doing will make a difference in somebody else’s life.”

The Weavers aren’t the only father-son duo at Ladder Tower. Scott Hackman Sr., 53, is the facility manager, and his son Scott Hackman Jr., 31, is an electrical and hydraulic engineer. Dave Evans Sr., 61, is the service manager, and his son, Dave Evans Jr., 33, is the lead service technician.

Around the country, if you look at many fire departments — volunteer or career, big or small — the passion for firefighting is often passed down from generation to generation. That’s not so different from the men who build the vehicles those firefighters depend on.

“There’s a lot of pride in building apparatus like this that companies use everyday to save lives,” said Scott Hackman Sr., who lives in Ephrata and has been with the company 34 years. “And now having my oldest son be part of that really gives a good feeling — that we’re part of producing something that helps the community.”

Like all the sons, Scott Hackman Jr. remembers playing with model fire trucks his dad brought home, especially of the trucks his father’s company made.

A real big deal for him was accompanying his father to the annual fire expo that was held in Harrisburg. There he would see some of the real Ladder Tower trucks.

“It was definitely popular to go and tell your friends you were crawling around with a fire truck that your dad helped build,” said Scott Jr., who lives in Elizabethtown, Lancaster County. After college, he joined Ladder Tower as an engineer, a role he has held for eight years.

Scott Jr. may have stopped playing with his model trucks, but his dad still has a soft spot for them.

“I’m still a little bit of a kid at heart,” Scott Sr. said, chuckling. “I actually have mine on display up here in my office,” including two trucks the company built for the Philadelphia Fire Department. “But I’m sure once the grandchildren start showing up, those models will disappear from my office and Grandpa will start that tradition all over again.”

Dave Evans Sr., 61, came to Ladder Tower 40 years ago from job as a mechanic at an Oldsmobile dealership.

“I started at the bottom,” he said.

He worked his way up to company service manager. His four kids and now his grandchildren, including a granddaughter who just graduated from college, have all loved being around the trucks.

That includes Dave Jr., a former warehouse worker, who came to Ladder Tower almost 10 years ago. Now he’s lead service technician.

“Everyday is different,” said Dave Jr., who, like his father, lives in Ephrata. “You meet customers from all over the world.”

As a boy, the big trucks were a thrill, especially those super-high ladder apparatus the company is known for.

“I was in awe — the lights and the horns and going up in the trucks and looking down. Everyone looked like ants,” he said.

Even after all this time, his father still has a sense of that awe.

“I can’t speak for everybody, but I realize the importance of what we do,” Dave Sr. said. “It’s huge to send a fire truck somewhere and know you did it the best you can, and everybody’s going to be safe driving it, and it’s going to last 20 years.”

The fathers and sons also get a kick out seeing their work out in the world. It happens a lot, especially in Philadelphia, where quite a few Ladder Tower vehicles are used, both by the city department and the airport.

“You see them on the morning news all the time,” said Dave Sr. “I see it on shows, anytime there’s something in Philly.”

At Ladder Tower and other fire vehicle companies, it’s not uncommon for employees to expand their public service commitment even beyond building the trucks.

“A lot of our employees are firefighters and EMTs in their volunteer fire departments,” said Julie Nuernberg, spokesperson for the REV Group, Ladder Tower’s parent company.

“Whether you’re building a fire truck or working as a firefighter, there’s this pride that’s instilled,” she said. “You’re doing something so important that protects neighborhoods and communities.”

Ken Weaver, now a Lititz, Lancaster County resident, was a firefighter before he started building the trucks.

“At the age of 16, I joined the local volunteer fire department as a junior firefighter,” he said. “I stayed on board until I actually got hired, and I started running the local fire department. I stayed there until I got married, and my wife did not want me putting my life on the line anymore, so I stopped running with the fire department.”

Over the years that he’s been building fire vehicles, he’s seen his company’s work while on vacation in Myrtle Beach and Virginia Beach. The feeling never gets old.

“We save lives everyday with the products we build,” he said

He’s passed that pride onto son Kendrick, who has started a family of his own.

Kendrick and his wife, Natasha, 31, of Brownstown, Lancaster County, have a little boy, Hunter. On weekends, sometimes Kendrick will take his son over to Ladder Tower so he can look at the big trucks, just like his father used to bring him.

“He knows what Daddy does, and he loves it,” Kendrick said. “He’s 5 years old. He says, ‘I want to grow up and be just like Daddy.’ He wants to build fire trucks.

“Who knows? It could be the third generation in 15 years or so.”