Multiple Yakima County agencies are responding to a storage container tire fire at the Renegade Raceway in Wapato. Fire District 5's Deputy Chief Ken tells us that the fire is very isolated. No cause has been identified at this time.
- PUB DATE: 11/18/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC Right Now

We now know what caused the blaze that sparked a destructive fire that demolished two homes in Othello on Nov. 5. The fire happened at around 11:15 p.m. in the 2100 block of Margarett Ln. The fire started in one home and spread to the other, eventually destroying both. The incident displaced two families.
- PUB DATE: 11/17/2022 8:34:00 PM - SOURCE: iFiber One News Radio

A Kelso man pleaded not guilty last week to deliberately setting a work truck on fire after police say he told them the vehicle had been parked on the street for too long. Ronald Edwin Smith, 57, is charged with second-degree arson after police found remnants of a fire around 8 p.m. Halloween night in the 800 block of North Seventh Avenue in Kelso.
- PUB DATE: 11/17/2022 4:25:00 PM - SOURCE: The Daily News - Metered Site

Rather than a fire truck trying to get down snowy streets for EMS calls, the Buffalo Fire Department will utilize SUV’s loaded with life-saving equipment, WGRZ.com reported.

For the first time in more than 25 years, the city fire department has exactly the fire engine it wants, OleanTimesHerald.com reported.

The Olean Fire Department took the keys to the new Engine 41 on Monday, the report said. City and fire officials said the fire engine is the first built to the city’s specifications since 1996. The new engine should be in service soon once the firefighters get used to it.

The truck was built by Rosenbauer Group in Minnesota and purchased through Empire Emergency Apparatus Inc. of Niagara Falls. The specifications and features were chosen by the city fire department’s truck committee with the special focus on safety and performance.

The Common Council OK’d the purchase in March 2021, with up to $625,000 allocated to the purchase, the report said. The final cost came in at $573,637, according to the report. Along with being under budget, the timing of the order saved the city more money due to price increases this year.

Some of the features include a short length, lower hose deck height, improved communications and safety equipment, and a heat tray to keep the water from freezing in cold weather. It is also designed to better maneuver on the city’s streets.