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Posted: Jul 1, 2025

Mahanoy City (PA) Fire Company Announces Winners After Apparatus Parade

Amy Marchiano
Republican & Herald, Pottsville, Pa.
(TNS)

MAHANOY CITY — Saturday’s parade and Mack party celebrating the 100th anniversary of the West End Fire & Rescue of Mahanoy City featured 119 apparatus. The winners were announced and are below.

“The day went better than we ever imagined,” said Dan Markiewicz, borough fire chief.

Saturday’s events were the culmination of a weeklong celebration that began with a memorial service at St. Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Church, and ran throughout the week.

The company, which is the youngest of the five in the borough, formed after a fire in the west end of the city and was officially chartered on June 29, 1925.

Winners

Engine 2015-2025

First place: Liberty Schuylkill Haven 63-14

Second place: MaryD 27-10

Engine 2000-2014

First place: Plainfield Twp 3611

Second place: Good Will Pottsville 68-14

Engine Pre-2000

First place: Citizens Palo Alto 57-12

Second place: Tremont 67-10

Engine/Rescue:

First place: Ryan Twp. 26-10

Second place: Good Will Cressona 41-10

Heavy Rescue:

First place: Kulpmont Squad 221

Second place: Tremont 67-50

SEE PARADE PHOTOS: West End Fire & Rescue 100th anniversary firetruck parade in Mahanoy City

Light Rescue:

First place: Lehigh & Lausanne 1955

Second place: Tamaqua Rescue Squad R6550

Tanker:

First place: Plainfield Twp. 3632

Second place: Liberty Schuylkill Haven 63-64

Tanker/Pumper:

First place: Rural Security Pumper Tanker 43

Second place: Diligence Summit Hill 1431

Aerial Quint:

First place: Nesquehoning 1321

Second place: Rainbow Schuylkill Haven 63-21

Straight aerial:

First place: Freeland Ladder 57

Second place: Schuylkill Hose Schuylkill Haven 63-22

Brush Truck:

First place: Summit Station 34-47

Second place: Nuremberg-Weston 1911

Specialty Apparatus:

First place: Minersville Fire &Rescue 52-62

Second place: Sheppton-Oneida 9-70

EMS Unit:

First place: Ryan Twp Ambulance 976

Off Road/UTV:

First place: Birdsboro Union FC UTV 7

MACK FD Owned 1975 & Newer: Lehigh & Lausanne Twp. 1911

MACK Private Owned 1975 & Newer: Tyler BoyerMACK Private Owned 1974 & Older: Schuylkill Historical FireAntique Private Owned 1975 & Newer: Kevin GeigerAntique Private Owned 1974 & Older: Schuylkill Historical FireFire Co. Antique: Community New RinggoldOldest Apparatus (FD or Private): Community New RinggoldTravelers’ Award: Plainfield Twp. (80 miles)

Judges’ Awards:

Fleetwood Traffic 45Allen Twp 4511Shenandoah EMS Ambulance 6404Community New Ringgold 55-15

Non-Red Apparatus: Cumbola 2-16E-ONE

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Posted: Jul 1, 2025

Barneveld (NY) Fire Station Winter Recovery Efforts Continue

Roger Seibert
The Oneida Daily Dispatch, N.Y.
(TNS)

TOWN OF MARCY, N.Y. — The Maynard Fire Department has partnered with Riverside Pools & Spas to raise funds for the Barneveld Fire Department after the department’s fire station collapsed this winter. Riverside Pools & Spas donated a luxury outdoor grill island valued at over $10,000.

On Sunday, June 15, Chris Turczyn, of Marcy, took home the grill. The prize represents ongoing community efforts to help the department recover from damage sustained form record-high snowfall this past winter.

“This fundraiser, hosted by Maynard Fire Department in partnership with Riverside Pools & Spas, was created to support the rebuilding efforts of Barneveld FD following the collapse of their station earlier this year,” Maynard Fire Department Corresponding Secretary and Assistant Public Information Officer Alexandra Osilovskiy said.

The 2024-2025 winter season saw a total snowfall of approximately 109.7 inches in the Utica region. During a heavy snowstorm in February some areas of Oneida County received up to 75 inches,

In February several buildings in the Camden area collapsed after snow accumulations reached over 10 feet. These heavy lake-effect snowfalls collapsed the roofs on Lucky Shots bowling alley and Hud-Son Forest Equipment, Camden Life Center Garage, a pole barn on Main Street and a building on River Road.

Lake-effect snow collapsed other roofs near the Barneveld fire barn. The Forestport Boat Company garage also faced a roof cave-in. At one point volunteers rescued several cows from a collapsed barn in the town of Western. The town of Trenton Recycling Center and the Old Town Highway building also collapsed.

New York State Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-C-Rome, and Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon, D-Marcy, recently introduced legislation that would assist Central New York and Mohawk Valley communities hit hard by extreme weather events

The bill is in committee. If passed it would:

– establish the Central New York Extreme Weather Relief and Resiliency Grant Program that would provide grants for small businesses, farms, owners of multiple dwellings, homeowners associations and not-for-profit organizations that sustained direct physical damage under one of the covered extreme weather events which they can apply for to cover repairs.

– expand and strengthen the state’s Resilient and Ready Storm Damage Recovery and Resilient Retrofit programs to offer additional emergency home repair assistance and/or reimbursement to impacted homeowners recent extreme weather events in the region and those that may occur in the future.

– create the Central New York property/casualty insurance resiliency incentive program to facilitate property/casualty insurance discounts for mitigation efforts. As a result of this program, property/casualty insurers in New York would be encouraged to offer loss mitigation tools and services to policyholders for free or reduced cost.

“This bill is about helping our families rebuild not just their homes, but their peace of mind,” Buttenschon said. “When disaster strikes, New Yorkers take care of one another, and that’s exactly what this legislation aims to do.”

Posted: Jul 1, 2025

Fire Apparatus of the Day: July 1, 2025

SUTPHEN—Troy (NY) Fire Department SP95 tower ladder quint, Monarch cab and chassis; Cummins X12 500-hp engine; Hale Qmax 1,500-gpm pump; 300-gallon polypropylene water tank; 95-foot aerial platform; Harrison 8-kW generator, Dealer: Phil Vander Molen, Vander Molen Fire Apparatus Sales and Service, Syracuse, NY.

PREVIOUS PHOTO OF THE DAY >>

MORE FIRE APPARATUS ARTICLES >>

The post Fire Apparatus of the Day: July 1, 2025 appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

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Posted: Jun 30, 2025

Shooter Identified in Idaho; Two Firefighters Killed

By REBECCA BOONE and CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — As a wildfire began to sow panic in a small northern Idaho mountain community, a group of firefighters who rushed to put out the blaze instead found themselves in an unexpected shootout.

A man who had intentionally set the fire to ambush the crew on Sunday was perched in a sniper position, firing at the firefighters. They took cover behind fire trucks, but two died and a third was wounded during a barrage of gunfire over several hours, authorities said.

First responders made urgent calls for help on their radios at Canfield Mountain just north of Coeur d’Alene: “Everybody’s shot up here … send law enforcement now,” according to one dispatch.

Two helicopters converged on the area, armed with snipers ready to take out the suspect if needed, while the FBI used his cellphone data to track him and the sheriff ordered residents to shelter in place. They eventually found the suspect dead in the mountains, his firearm beside him.

It is unknown how he died, and authorities have not yet revealed a motive.

The suspect has been identified as Wess Roley, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Monday. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.

“We do believe that the suspect started the fire, and we do believe that it was an ambush and it was intentional,” Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said at a Sunday night news conference. “These firefighters did not have a chance.”

The wounded firefighter was “fighting for his life” after surgery and was in stable condition, Norris said.

“When you have an environment where you don’t know where the bullets are coming from because of the trees and the shrubbery and what have you, it is daunting for police officers, let alone firefighters,” Norris said.

Outpouring of support was swift in Coeur d’Alene, a city of 55,000 residents near the border with Washington.

A line of wildland firefighters arrive at the scene the day after a shooter ambushed and killed multiple firefighters responding to a wildfire at Canfield Mountain Monday, June 30, 2025, in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Hours after the ambush, people gathered along Interstate 90 holding American flags to pay their respects as the two fallen firefighters’ bodies were taken to the medical examiner’s office in Spokane, Washington, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) from Coeur d’Alene.

Gov. Brad Little on Monday ordered U.S. and Idaho state flags to be lowered to half-staff to honor the f

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Posted: Jun 30, 2025

FEMSA Focus: NFPA 1970

NFPA 1970 isn’t just paperwork; it drives tangible changes to the equipment firefighters depend on. Helmet products, for example, now must meet tighter specs on toxic substances in soft fabrics and integrated lighting systems must comply with new intrinsic safety standards. This means that the electronics embedded in helmets have to be non-incendiary—critical in volatile fireground environments.

From the turnout gear perspective, the largest impacts relate to the fabrics and coatings used in garments. While older materials had established, functionally important coatings—such as water-repellency and chemical resistance—many of those now fall under scrutiny for hazardous substances. New PFAS-free shells introduced around 2021 show some performance tradeoffs, particularly in repellency and contamination control, which can unintentionally shorten gear lifecycle. This represents a learning curve not only for manufacturers but also for end users who rely heavily on the durability and protective qualities of their gear. Innovation pushed by the new standard is aimed at raising the bar of firefighter protection, but these developments will require ongoing research and field feedback before all kinks are worked out.

The post FEMSA Focus: NFPA 1970 appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

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