2010 Calendars Are Here!

Back for a 5th straight year, the popular tow truck themed calendar has returned for 2010. Several new photos have been added to give the publication a new feel for the new year.

New features that have helped the 2010 product improve from last year include a 13th month layout and small reference calendars indicating days of the week for previous and upcoming months. The newly designed publication also features a new color scheme, additional holidays, and custom fonts to make it one-of-a-kind.

The greatest accomplishment for this year’s calendar is most likely the introduction of several new photos from around the Pacific Northwest. Ron Storer traveled around greater Seattle with Airport Towing to photograph the antique trucks in some of the most beautiful settings around. Featured neighborhoods include Fremont, Wallingford, Seattle waterfront, Belltown, Burien, Sodo, Seatac, Aurora, Boeing Field, Des Moines, and Mt. Rainier National Park. The scenes themselves are magnificently rich in character, ranging from Dick’s Drive-In to Safeco Field and The Fremont Bridge to The Old Spaghetti Factory.

The Airport Towing calendar is as much about character as it is about content. One new photo shows the 3 youngest members of the Airport Towing family playing in antique pedal cars at a local park in Burien. Two of the toy vehicles are tow trucks, one is a vintage aircraft; hence the new addition to Airport Towing’s calendar. “Airport” being one part of the photo and “Towing” obviously portrayed by the small tow truck peddlers.

Having so many rare and beautiful tow trucks displayed in the calendar was only made possible by the actions of Mark Storer, the founder and deceased CEO of Airport Towing. It was his ambition to build a reputable towing company from the ground up, and his passion for everything towing related (especially antiques) that gave him the drive to complete the restoration of a 1925 Ford Model TT tow truck. The completion of this masterpiece, with the help of mechanic Rocky Willis and his crew led to the addition of 12 other classic trucks, countless parts and accessories, and other memorabilia relating to the history of the towing industry. As a direct result of his efforts, we are able to enjoy one of the finest antique tow truck collections every year.

After Mark and his son Brian died last July, a memorial calendar was printed in their honor. It featured short stories and several memories of the two tow truck men. This year, Mark’s collection of classics and antiques are on front stage, but the father and son are both pictured somewhere in the calendar.

Mark can be seen driving with the top down across the Fremont Bridge in his 1928 Ford Model A Roadster and Brian is shown dressed up as Santa Claus in front of a 1935 Chevrolet. Mark always admitted the annual calendar had become one of his favorite new things each year. At Airport Towing, we plan to keep the tradition alive forever. Work has already begun on a new calendar for 2011.

For more information on the 2010 calendar, please visit our Calendar Page, listed in the Museum section of our site. Calendars can be requested directly through the main office at Airport Towing by calling 1-866-227-7770 or online.

Hooked on Super Heavy Duty School

Three members of Airport Towing’s heavy recovery team participated in Super Heavy Duty Recovery School last month in Wenatchee, Washington. The classes were put on by the Towing & Recovery Association of Washington and hosted locally by Randy’s Towing. The Super Heavy Duty Certification earned by these heavy operators represents the highest level of achievement offered by TRAW.

Though many towing companies believe the only education a driver needs is experience (OJT), Airport Towing and other members of the Washington State Association believe differently. Clearly, there is no substitute for training. Participants are able to work in a controlled environment, and can take the time to work through scenarios, luxuries they do not have when on the scene of real working incidents.

TRAW’s Super Heavy Duty class includes classroom time and a final written exam, but the emphasis of the class is clearly geared toward hands-on training. Instructors work hard to stage large donated trucks, trailers, containers, and equipment in difficult geographical locations designed to challenge the tow operators. Throughout the class, the recoveries progress from simple winch-outs to basic tractor-trailer roll-overs, then on to more complicated situations.

Not only were students challenged with recovering heavy trucks that were thrown into the most precarious situations, but they were also given the realistic scenario of working through the night. Responding to accident recoveries in the middle of the night is nothing new to a tow truck operator, so the instructors decided to add the challenge of working in the dark during early morning hours without giving prior notice. The task was to recover a rolled over cement mixer, down an embankment, and off the main road. Through auxiliary lighting and careful rigging, the crew was able to safely recover the disabled vehicle.

Another scenario students were faced with  was to retrieve a heavy excavator, buried thoroughly in the mud to the point where the wheels were no longer visible. The class was broken up into two teams and students were asked to come up with a recovery plan that would get the job done most efficiently. Participants were given an opportunity to think on their feet, work in teams, and understand the limits of their equipment. From the working limit of the chain to the snatch block, the boom, cable, straps, shackles, and all other equipment must be considered when working a heavy recovery incident.

Students at Airport Towing observed that the value of working together as a team was the single most important lesson learned while working a heavy recovery incident. Their opportunity to train together helped the trio gain confidence in each other, which will increase efficiency while working together during real emergency operations. Just as any emergency scene responder has come to expect, tow truck operators must work quickly and in unison to be able to best serve the motoring public. Incidents need to be quickly analyzed and a plan for recovery operations must be implemented in a short period of time. This is especially true when heavy duty tow trucks are called on scene. Experience at work and training opportunities such as TRAW’s Super Heavy Tow School are the only way to prepare for such situations.

The location for the four day school and recovery class was at the Chelan County Fire District 1 training grounds. Fire departments are known for their level of expertise, directly related to their relentless training. Professional towing operators would love to have as much training as firefighters, but because towing is privately funded it is difficult to receive funding for training programs. Operators that donate equipment and drivers to these classes take a loss while their businesses operate short-handed.

This year TRAW was able to gain the support of 14 students who participated in the class and several instructors who were willing to volunteer their time for the benefit of the towing and recovery industry. Attending students came from all around the northwest to enhance their working knowledge of operating heavy equipment. Participating companies sending students included Airport Towing, Willette’s Towing, Pro Tow, Ron May Towing, Lakewood Towing, Randy’s Towing, Bethel Towing.

In addition to time and personnel donated to the super heavy duty class, several pieces of equipment were also donated to be used at the training facility. Airport Towing, as well as 3 other companies from Washington State sent heavy duty tow trucks to the Super Heavy Duty class, including Randy’s Towing of Wenatchee, Bethel Towing of Port Orchard, and Lakewood Towing near Tacoma. Randy’s Towing also provided a medium duty tow truck; George Washington Towing volunteered equipment transportation via a lowboy, and Nelson Truck volunteered the use of a new flatbed tow truck with side pull capabilities. Class instructors from TRAW included Rich Steele of Lincoln Towing, Keith Lewis of Pro Tow, Kurt Gillard of George Washington Towing, and Mike & Joanne Walcker. Visiting instructors from California were Bob Berry and Steve Cardineli.

Overall, the 2009 TRAW Super Heavy Duty Recovery School was a huge success thanks to the participation from regional towing companies, eager tow truck operators, and dedicated instructors. These participants are proud improve their professionalism and lead the way in our state’s towing and recovery operations.

Burien Kids Day 2009 is Fun for the Family

More than 1,000 people visited Burien Fire Station 28 last weekend to celebrate “Kids Day”, an annual community event organized by Fire District #2. The weather was perfect, large trucks were on display, and there were plenty of free hot dogs for everyone.

King County Fire District #2 (Burien/Normandy Park Fire) has established a tradition of hosting an event at Burien Fire Headquarters for kids and parents to learn about public safety and to have a fun filled Saturday at no cost to the individual. This is made possible through donations made by many local businesses and organizations. Airport & Burien Towing volunteered to help by transporting and donating vehicles for auto extrications, as well as displaying a 35 ton tow truck and a 1935 Ford hot rod tow truck from their antique collection.

Kids of all ages enjoyed the extensive variety of activities. Small diamater fire hoses and knock down fire displays were set up and operated by the SeaTac Explorers for young firefighters to enjoy. North Highline Fire District allowed families to tour their fire engines and pose in the seats for pictures. For the young kids with endless energy, inflatable toys were on site to help mom and dad get a little break while watching the kids burn off some calories. For those looking to learn about fire safety, Burien/Normandy Park firefighters taught interactive classes inside a 2 story smoke house, complete with emergency exits and lighted fire displays. Other activities included a candy search, free child identification bracelets, a helicopter landing by the King County Sherriff’s Office, prize drawings, face paintings, 100 foot high angle rescue show, multiple vehicle automobile extrications, along with many other fun things for kids to do and watch.

An auto extrication is a rescue scenario that includes the removal of persons who are trapped inside a vehicle. Some cars involved in accidents are so badly misshapen that the doors and windows will only open by use of excessive force. Because these types of accidents have become more common, local fire departments train firefighters to use heavy duty hydraulic tools to remove patients from vehicles. Burien Fire performed 2 auto extrications on vehicles donated by Burien & Airport Towing. The extrications are a main attraction, and typically the hilight of the day for spectators.

Airport Towing & Burien Towing have been donating cars to the Burien Fire Department for this type of training for many years. The photo above features Burien firefighters putting on an extrication display for Kids Day 1999. The Burien Fire Department plans on hosting Kids Day next year to continue the annual tradition. If the City of Burien acts quickly and secures a new location to replace their outdated station, the event may be held at a brand new fire station in 2010 or 2011.

Museum Update: 1935 Chevrolet Tow Truck

Type: 1 ½ ton towtruck

Nickname: “The Chev”

Color: Blue

Photo: The character in our “Santa Clause” photo is Brian Storer. He was a faithful employee of Burien Towing his entire life, as he was raised in the family business. Brian owned his own Santa Suit and enjoyed posing for this photo to add a Christmas photo to our company calendar. Brian died July 24th, 2008 in an airplane accident. His animated and jolly character is forever remembered at Burien Towing.

Specifications: 6 Cylinder, 3 speed transmission, hydraulic brakes

Tow Unit: Manley Wrecker #107 Crane with Auxiliary Winch

Biography: Originally purchased in 1935 by Benson Chevrolet in Franklin, Hew Hampshire (America’s oldest Chevrolet dealer) the cab and chassis were fitted with a dump bed and sold. One year later, the customer decided he wanted the new 1936 Chevrolet that came with hydraulic brakes as opposed to the mechanical brakes on the 1935. He headed back to the dealership and traded it in. Upon returning to Benson Chevrolet, the dump bed was removed from the truck and it was replaced with a Manley Wrecker unit, making it into a tow truck. It was then used for towing until it retired and went into storage in the 1970’s.

Restoration: Burien Towing found the truck in Maine and purchased it in working condition from a classic car dealer in 1999 to add to its rapidly expanding collection of antique tow trucks. As soon as the truck arrived in Burien it was obvious that the wood deck on the truck needed some work so it was placed in the Burien Towing warehouse to begin restoration. Only minimal restoration was required as the cab and chassis were purchased in good condition.

To bring it up to show quality the tow unit was removed and the bed was dismantled. The lumber was refinished by Burien Towing employees. After the truck was reassembled, custom gold leaf lettering was added to the doors by Dunn Auto Graphics. An original 1935 Washington truck lisence plate was also purchased and restored to look new. Finally, a Weaver Auto Ambulance was added to the bed of the truck just as it may have been used in the era the Chev was operating. The auto amubulance is a dolly system that is placed under the axle of the truck in tow to lift the wheels off the ground. Since the truck was completed, Burien Towing has taken it to several local parades and car shows, including the Burien 4th of July Parade among others.

To view the full version of this page go to our Museum Page and click on 1935 Chevrolet. This is the first museum page to be completed. More updates to our other antique tow truck pages are coming soon!