COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – A bell that tolled for Council Bluffs fire calls as early as the 1800s is again hanging outside a city fire station after years in storage. Fire Chief Justin James tells The Daily Nonpareil that the bell is now hanging from a newly constructed Centennial Bell Tower at a fire station in the center of the city. It was placed in its new home Monday.

Jim and Kelly Salvo of Salvo’s Construction provided the heavy equipment needed to hang the 1,300 pound brass bell with a crane. The Salvos are also Council Bluffs firefighters. James says the $200,000 cost to construct the tower and restore the bell was funded by donations. He says the fire department’s next task is working on the roof and the plaza below.