When staffers at The Stratford assisted living facility, 1739 W. Myrtle Ave., saw that the American flag that had been flying over the buildings continuously for more than a year had become worn, they knew it was time to replace it. Problem was, when they went to bring the flag down, the internal halyard came undone. The pole stretches more than three stories high, and the staff members couldn’t figure out how to get up to the top to rethread the halyard cord. Riding—or in this case, driving—to the rescue were crewmembers from Phoenix Fire Station 20, 726 W. Glendale Ave., who used the boom on their ladder truck to access the top of the pole, remove the assembly, rethreaded it and raise up The Stratford’s new “Old Glory.” The firefighters were the heroes of the day, without a single flame in sight.