By Alan M. Petrillo

The Surprise (AZ) Fire-Medical Department services a growing community in the Northwest Valley of the Sun, 45 minutes from downtown Phoenix, with eight fire stations, staffed by 150 paid full-time firefighters and 33 civilian paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs), handling fire, rescue, EMS, and hazardous materials emergencies.

To adequately serve the 110-square-mile community in the future, with its more than 145,000 population, the department created a master building plan for constructing fire stations to serve growing areas as well as replacing existing stations that don’t meet modern fire station design requirements.

“We looked at multiple factors when considering the location and size of our new stations,” says Tom Abbott, Surprise’s chief. “We wanted to build fire stations that are not only functional today but will be adequate to serve the community decades from now. You can’t anticipate what your needs will be 10 to 20 years from now, so you have to plan stations to have the space that will accommodate your needs at that time.”

• Video Walk-Around: Surprise (AZ) SVI/Spartan Pumper

Two recently constructed stations, Station 304 and Station 308, reflect the department’s need for functionality through their design, layout, and equipment such as lightweight, quick-opening, powder-coated aluminum overhead doors and a Phoenix G2 station alerting system. “Another big criteria that we figured into the new stations involved incidents of firefighter cancer and how we could design a building that helps us reduce exposure and minimize the risk of cancer from contaminants,” Abbott points out. “These elements in the stations have become a template that we c

Sutphen—Middlefield (OH) Fire Department pumper. Monarch cab and chassis; Cummins L9 450-hp engine; Hale Qmax-XS 1,500-gpm pump; UPF Poly 1,000-gallon water tank; 30-gallon foam cell; Hale SmartFoam 2.1 single-agent foam system; Will-Burt Night Scan 2.3 light tower; Harrison 6-kW generator; coffin compartments. Dealer: Ray Capezzuto, Herb Fire Equipment, Powell, OH.

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Construction kicks off next week on Cascade Township’s new $10.9 million Fire Station No. 1, MLive.com reported.

Township officials say demolition will begin next week on the current, cramped Fire Station No. 1 at 2865 Thornhills Avenue SE to make way for its replacement, which will be built on the same site and feature a station with nearly triple the square footage.

Construction on the new station is expected to be finished in fall 2023.

The demolition of the existing station leaves Cascade firefighters with only one working station in the township. To remedy that, firefighters will be working out of a temporary space at Gerald R. Ford International Airport and will be staging at various locations around the township during peak times to maintain proper coverage, the report said.

According to the township, the new station will feature:

• “Four pull-through, double-deep apparatus bays for improved vehicle storage and operability when responding to emergencies.
• A hose tower with new training features for high-rise operations, repelling, window bailouts, confined space searches and ladder operations, among others.
• State-of-the-art emergency dispatching system designed to reduce response times and increase firefighter safety.
• A carcinogen exhaust capture system and decontamination areas for proper sanitation after exposure to harmful contaminants.
• Mechanical zones designed to create a buffer between living space and carcinogens brought in on clothing and gear after fighting fires.
• Private sleeping and changing quarters with gender separation.
• Space for staff and community training and events.
• Increased greenspace and landscaping.
• A new stormwater system that will comply with the township’s new ordinance.”

The Hindman Volunteer Fire Department lost one of its fire engines in the late July floods. Chief Preston Hays told WYMT.com recently that the truck has a long history with the department.

The fire department hopes when the engine is restored it will be turned into a positive moving-monument for the community. The desire is to get funding to bear a plaque with all of the victims from Knott County or the flood all together, put it on the truck, and take it to parades, the report said.

The T-shirts are selling for $25 and have an image of the truck on the front with the words, “this does KNOTT define us”.

If you would like to buy the shirt or make a donation, you can PayPal- hindmanvol328@gmail.com or send money to the station at P.O. Box 299 Hindman, KY 41822.

In addition the unique paint job, the West Orange Fire Department’s truck has an improved pump, a water tank that can hold 1,000 gallons of water and can help transport five firefighters to a scene, 12newsnow.com reported.