Gadsden (AL) held a ribbon-cutting Tuesday to celebrate the opening of its new $1 million fire station, WBRC.com reported.

The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George board of directors approved the purchase of a $1 million fire engine for the Beaverly Fire Rescue service on Sept. 22, PrinceGeorgeCitizen.com reported.

The original budget for the replacement fire truck was $850,000, but the volunteer department was forced to increase the budget to get the vehicle they needed, the report said.

Due to longer delivery times and increased costs, Beaverly Fire Rescue ordered the new frontline engine earlier in order to accommodate the longer delivery time frames involved and still meet the timeline to have the new engine in service in 2024, according to a city official.

The New Franklin Fire Department has added a brand-new Pierce Saber Pumper Truck to service the city, NewFranklin.org reported.

The new engine essentially replaces two existing rescue vehicles and incorporates the latest innovations in fire apparatus available, the report said.

A 2019 Assistance to Firefighter’s Grant paid for 95% of the purchase price of the firetruck, which amounted to $529,524, and leaving just $27,862 to be paid by the New Franklin Fire Department, according to the report.

South Laguna Beach residents will have a new fire station in the future, after the city council approved the acquisition of a parcel of land for the location of the new Fire Station No. 4 and related public use facility, Patch.com reported.

The fire station will be located on 31796 Coast Highway, where a current dental office stands, the report said.

The $6.1 million acquisition comes after the city came to an agreement with the owner of the land to purchase the three parcels located on Coast Highway at Fifth Avenue, according to the report.

By Alan M. Petrillo

Hazardous materials response depends on the region of the country, the fire departments located within that area, and the agency purchasing the rig.

So, departments and regional fire agencies around the country are being outfitted with everything from large hazmat/rescue vehicles to semi-size trailers and small trucks and trailers carrying the basic minimum hazmat gear.

Joel Konecky, vice president of sales for SVI Trucks, says the vast majority of the hazmat trucks SVI has been building are large units, often with slide-outs to expand the interior space. He says SVI built a hazmat truck for the Winnipeg (MB) Fire and Paramedic Service on an International tandem rear axle chassis and two-door cab with a 30-foot aluminum body and three slide-outs.

• Hazmat Response and Training
• Lessons Learned from Hazmat Training and Response
• Hazmat Response Mentality
• Vehicle Rescue Meets Hazmat with a Twist
• Special Operations Hazmat Archives
• Hazmat Vehicles and Equipment Range from Small to Large
• Equipment Load-Outs on USAR, Hazmat, and Technical Rescue Trucks
• Unique Applications Call for Specialty Emergency Vehicles

“Wheelbase on the truck is 310 inches, overall length is 41 feet 6 inches, and overall height is 12 feet 10 inches,” Konecky says. “It has a Command Light CL series light tower, a Bosch Starlight camera on a Will-Burt telescoping mast, an Orion vehicle-mounted weather station, OnScene Solutions heavy-duty cargo slides, a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) storage module, and a Norcold refrigerator/freezer.”

For the Pueblo West (CO) Fire Department, SVI built a hazmat truck on a Spartan Metro Star single rear axle chassis and cab with a 20-inch raised roof, powered by a 450-horsepower (hp) Cummins L9 diesel engine and Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission. “Pueblo West’s truck has a 20-foot walk-in body with exterior storage compartments, a crew area and command center inside along with bench seating, an Onan Protec 20-kilowatt (kW) power takeoff (PTO) generator, a Command Light CL series light tower, and a Carefree