The Pohakuloa Training Area’s fire response capability will be enhanced through a $2.48 million U.S. Department of Defense grant to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. The grant provides funds for the construction of a new firefighting and conservation warehouse to improve wildfire response and enable maintenance and repair of firefighting vehicles, HawaiiTribune-Herald.com reported.

This grant will address priority threats to military training operations, protect life and property, and conserve Hawaii’s watersheds and rare native plants and wildlife, the report said.

Rapid wildfire response and suppression is critical to minimizing impacts to training and base operations as well as protecting military personnel and families, civilians, their homes and the native ecosystem, according to a PTA press release.

In addition to keeping the installation safe, the PTA Fire Department has an approximately 500 square-mile response radius to support the surrounding Hawaii Island community, the report said. PTA has a long-standing partnership with community fire departments to keep the community safe.

The Department of Defense awarded 19 grants on Sept. 23 totaling approximately $90 million for states and communities to undertake infrastructure enhancements to support military value, installation resiliency, and/or family quality of life that benefits their local installations, according to the press release.

The Southside City Council last week finalized actions toward construction of a new fire station, approving building a facility that will move the city toward a combination paid and volunteer department, GadsdenTimes.com reported.

The council had previously awarded a bid for $3.9 million for a new station on Alabama Highway 77 across from New Seasons Church, the report said.

The loan with Metro Bank is a construction loan; a fire official said the city approved for a USDA loan of up to $4.1 million at an interest rate of 2.5% that will be used to pay off the Metro Bank loan, the report said. That loan, at that rate, will be paid out over 30-years.

A fire official said the plan for department’s future is to have two paid firefighters to man the station, and to ask volunteers to rotate staying at the station as well so that personnel and equipment will be in the same location, shortening response time to fire and medic calls, according to the report.

Pierce—York Center Fire Protection District, Lombard, IL, walk-around rescue. Enforcer cab and chassis; Detroit Diesel DD13 525-hp engine; 20.5-foot walk-around rescue body; Onan 30-kW generator. Dealer: Vince Baudek, MacQueen Emergency, Aurora, IL.

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At Clayton County Fire Station 2 in Forest Park, you would typically see the fire engine out on the driveway, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. The fire chief said the department has canceled its open-door policy with the community after a thief stole the jaws of life off a fire truck.

Surveillance video from September 9 showed a black Dodge Challenger pull up to Fire Station No. 2. A man got out, walked to a storage compartment and removed the jaws of life, the report said.

The jaws of life is known as an extrication tool. Firefighters use it to force apart jammed car doors after an accident.

The jaws of life is valued at more than $20,000. One news story reported a man using it to open ATMs, according to the report.

Clayton County police have asked for the public’s help in identifying the man. You can leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers by call 404-577-TIPS.

The Twin Lakes Fire Department opened its new fire station Sunday, a year after it burned to the ground, KFOR.com reported.

The department held a special ceremony and ribbon cutting ceremony outside the new fire station in Logan County, the report said.

The new building cost more than $430,000 and much of the equipment inside was donated from fellow fire stations and the community, according to the report.

Shortly after the station opened Sunday, the team was called out to help aid the Cashion Fire Department on a call, allowing the Twin Lakes Fire Department to get back to saving lives and its community under its new roof, the report said.

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