The city of Columbia hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday to celebrate the construction of a new fire station, KOMU.com reported. The new house will be know as Fire Station No. 11 and will serve the southwest portion of Columbia.

Construction on the project is currently underway, as workers prepare the ground for the building’s foundation, located at 6909 Scott Boulevard. They expected the project to be completed by summer of 2023, the report said.

A fire official said this fire station will bring immediate relief for Fire Station No. 6 and No. 7, according to the report. 

Construction of the fire station is being funded by the 2015 ¼-cent capital improvement sales tax, according to a press release. 

The new fire station will include a large classroom to train staff, four individual bunk rooms, commercial kitchen, family type room, and a physical fitness workout room, the report said.

Ridgefield residents have unanimously approved to buy two fire trucks for about $1.8 million — a purchase that’s greatly needed, a city official said, StamfordAdvocate.com reported.

The cost of the trucks, which is almost $1.77 million, is part of the town’s five-year capital plan. There was a new truck specified in the budget for 2023 and 2024. However, the town has requested to move those purchases up, due to the poor condition of its current fire trucks, the report said.

The delivery time for the fire trucks is about 17 months from the time of order.  

The Billings City Council has approved plans for a new fire station in the Heights, one that will house the city’s first mobile response team focused on medical calls, KTVQ.com reported.

The council approved pursuing the purchase of a new building on Monday night. The Billings Fire Department has already set aside $2 million in its 2023 budget for the purchase, the report said.

Billings’ newest fire station may look like many others at first glance, but the double bay garage houses much more than traditional fire trucks, according to the report.

Since this was once a fire station, remodeling the building will save the city money. The total project is expected to cost just over $1 million, compared to it an estimated $4 million to $7 million for a brand new station, the report said.

One mobile response team is expected to be up and running at the new station by December 1, the report said.

Fire Station 8 will be the base for the city’s first mobile medical response team. Medical calls in Billings have recently skyrocketed, and firefighters say a traditional fire truck is often not necessary, according to the report.

Chester Township Council voted 3-0 to buy its next fire truck during its September 20 meeting, NewJerseyHills.com reported.

The truck would eventually replace a fire engine that is in its 40th year of service but had been refurbished in 1997, the report said. The new vehicle would not be purchased until 2025 but the council thought it would be prudent to set up financing, so that they could move on it when necessary. The bond ordinance is being introduced to set up that purchase order, according to the report.

The township with Chester Borough recently bought a Tower 9 Hook and Ladder truck for $1.4 million. The cost of the new truck would be $1,049,522, the report said.

The Loves Park Fire Department has moved into its newest facility, which fire officials say will reduce response times to its busiest areas and eventually lower insurance costs for homeowners and businesses, RockRiverCurrent.com reported.

The city showed off its new Station 1 during an open house Tuesday at the remodeled former body shop at 5180 Rock Valley Parkway. It started using the facility about three weeks ago, the report said.

The new station replaces the city’s original station at 400 Grand Avenue, which was built in 1947 and originally home to City Hall. It will now be used as storage for the city’s Public Works Department, the report said.

The former station no longer made sense for today’s fire equipment, a fire official said. For example, its doors were 10-foot tall, which doesn’t accommodate the 12-foot tall ladder trucks the department now uses, the report said.