Fire Chief Jerry Johnson borrowed a Caterpillar forklift to position an antique bell on a steel frame in front of the Madison fire department building.

The forklift "was handy" and made the technical manoeuvre feasible, Johnson says.

At one time, the 1,525 lb (686 kg) cast-brass bell was positioned atop the city hall and served as the city's fire bell to summon volunteers for an emergency. Recently, it was invisible to the public in a wooden enclosure on the roof near an alley, and metal oxidation had resulted in a green coloration on the bell's surface.

Craig's Welding & Repair in Madison ground away the grime and residual coating and restored the bell to the shiny appearance it had in 1886 when Henry McShane & Co cast the bell in Baltimore, Maryland. The firm operates today as McShane Bell Foundry in the Baltimore suburb of Glen Burnie.

Volunteer fireman Kurt Christiansen provided the forklift for Johnson's 15 July lifting of the bell.

Kurt and Tammi Christiansen own a water softener and purification service in Madison and use the forklift, which has a 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) lifting capacity, to unload pallet loads of salt-filled bags from trucks.