The city will also build two brand new stations in under-served areas. Station No. 13 in the 1900 block of West College, to go up in 2020, and Station No. 14 at 2026 West Chestnut Expressway in 2026.  

Fire Chief David Pennington says, "Thirteen's area is really at the center of what we call our Project Red Zone. It's an area of high call demand, areas of high fire frequency. This gives us the opportunity to put firefighters in the neighborhood to continue to reduce risk in that neighborhood through their interaction with the community. We're just really thankful we've got the opportunity to do this."

The city has known about under-served areas for years, but voter approval for a level property tax renewal in November 2017 provided the funding to build.

The State Fire Marshal Grant recipients include 242 fire departments in 40 counties throughout Ohio.  

The MARCS radio system allows first responders to seamlessly communicate, not only with each other, but with other agencies responding to an incident (i.e. fire departments from neighboring areas, law enforcement, etc.).

Talk of upgrading the 11,000-square-foot station, located on Dodd Road south of Minnesota 62, goes back to 2015, when the city first hired an architect to study the building’s deficiencies.  

Concept plans, ranging from simple upgrades to a total teardown, either didn’t meet firefighters’ needs or were too expensive, said Liz Petschel, a council member since 2011. When Dave Dreelan was promoted to fire chief in mid-2017, he recruited a new design firm — CNH Architects — that worked with a committee and city staff to come up the current plan, which calls for 15,180 square feet of additional space.

Fire Marshal Kevin May said the $800,000 truck has new features specifically designed to make firefighting easier in the city of Longview.

 

Engine One features traditional hoses that come off the side, but May says the addition of hoses that come off the back of the truck will also help with firefighting in places like downtown where they’re likely to encounter narrow areas and parked cars.

There’s also a custom rear bumper as well as more lights to make the rig safer. Another unique feature allows the truck to pump water without having to be parked.

Fire crews were responing to a fire in Horry County when a driver grazed the side of the fire engine. The firetruck sustainted minor damage and no one was hurt, according to Lt. Jonathan Evans.   

Officials say that driver did not stop after the collision and Lt. Evans did not know if the person has been located yet.