The Louisville Fire Department has a new tool – a rescue boat, WLKY.com reported. LFD’s previous frontline rescue boat was damaged in a storm in the summer of 2018.

The boat was, in part, paid for with the federal port security grant, and it arrived at the LFD port last week, the report said.

The boat comes with four water turrets that can be manned manually or electronically, according to the report. All four can shoot 1,500 gallons of water per minute. To put that into perspective, the 1976 cutter’s hoses shoot out 150 gallons per minute.

For the first time ever rescue crews will have access to a thermal camera, the report said. Previously, when conducting a water rescue, they would have to use flashlights and dive teams. Now they can locate a human or any other living object so long as their body temperature is hotter than the water’s.

Three crews are still training on it, the report said, and they’ll continue to train on it for the next few weeks.

• A Closer Look at Thermal Imaging for Firefighters

While the financial hits keep coming for a new planned Ocean City fire station, the project narrowly avoided another major snag this week thanks to a slim council majority, OceanCityToday.com reported.

At a work session Tuesday, four council members voted in favor of adjusting the city’s bond issue to cover the latest cost projection, $10.5 million, for the planned 65th Street station, the report said. The vote edged out opposition votes, who shot down the measure for reasons that ranged from wanting more information, to simply objecting to the overall price tag, the report said.

With the approval, the payments for the new station will come from a portion of a multimillion-dollar bond issue originally slated for the Baltimore Avenue utility burying project, according to the report. They also do not include a previously promised contribution from the volunteer fire company.

A new Fire Station 3 has been at the top of the city’s wish list for some time, as the current facility at 74th Street becomes increasingly less adequate to serve the paid and volunteer firefighters who use it, the report said.

Initial estimates for a new station in front of the public safety building on 65th Street came in at roughly $5.5 million early last year, but later skyrocketed to $12.7 million with inflation and high construction costs, according to the report.

Brentwood Fire & Rescue will hold a grand opening for Fire Station 5 at 9 a.m. December 17. Parking is at Jordan Elementary, 9714 Split Log Road, with shuttle service to Station 5.

Speaking at the grand opening will be Brentwood city commissioners, Fire Chief Brian Goss, Deputy Fire Chief Brian Collins and City Manager Kirk Bednar.

The $9 million fire station will be a two-story, two-bay, 10,000-square-foot building that will house a single company, or a fire crew of three personnel. 

The city of Brockton (MA)’s Procurement Office is auctioning off a used fire engine from 1981 to the public, EnterpriseNews.com reported.

The high bid for the Mack Model CF611F fire truck currently sits at $4,700, but the reserve price has not yet been met, the report said.

Interested buyers can submit a bid online at any time before the deadline, which is 11:58 a.m. Monday, November 21.

All the proceeds from the auction will go directly to the city of Brockton.

The truck, which is fully operational and “runs well” but does not have a water pump, currently has 75,587 miles and contains an E6-260 engine and Allison HT-740D transmission, according to the online “Municibid” auction listing.

Orange Volunteer Fire Department held a wet down ceremony November 5 for a new $484,000 fire engine that the department touts will protect property and the environment, OrangeTownNews.com reported. 

The 2022 Spartan fire truck is equipped with a 1,500-gallon-per-minute pump and 1,000 gallons of water as well as several compartments full of battery-powered tools, the report said. It’s those tools that set the new truck apart, a fire official said.

Prior to this, the department used two-cycle gas-powered engines to run saws and other equipment, which adds to the effect on the environment, the official said.

The batteries are charged while the fire truck is in the station, the fire official said.

The new truck is part of a long-range plan by the department to update its apparatus, according to the report.