The Springfield Fire Department and Brockton Police Departments have been released from a nearly half-a-century-old consent decree that prioritizes the hiring of Black and Hispanic candidates in Massachusetts police and fire departments. U.S. District Court Judge Patti. B. Saris released the two departments from the state-mandated decree on Wednesday afternoon, court documents stated.
- PUB DATE: 7/1/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Republican - MassLive

PHOTOS: When emergency dispatchers told Minnesota’s Sleepy Eye Fire Department that a man was drowning in corn kernels, the volunteers knew they were facing a farm foe as deadly as a city’s towering inferno. “It’s just pulling them down like quicksand is what it is,” Sleepy Eye Fire Chief Ron Zinniel told Coffee or Die Magazine.
- PUB DATE: 7/1/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Coffee or Die Magazine

PHOTOS: A commercial fire has been extinguished in the Seattle Chinatown-International District Friday morning. Fire crews responded to the fire at a nail salon/beauty school in the 1200 block of South Jackson Street shortly before 8 a.m. The fire did not extend into the building and no injuries were reported, firefighters said.
- PUB DATE: 7/1/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

Last week, barely two days after it was finished, the mural on the Crowville fire station was damaged when a car crashed through it.

The year-long effort was ruined just like that. But now, Friends of Crowville, a nonprofit organization in town, has set up a GoFundMe page to fix it. As of this writing, it has raised about one-third of its goal.

“On June 24, just 48 hours after the completion of the Hello Crowville Mural on the local fire department station, it was struck by a vehicle causing major damage to the mural,” the GoFundME page says. “This was a year long project in designing, planning and completing made possible by donations, fundraising, and a grant through the Louisiana Division of the Arts and the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council.”

Coldwater city council Monday approved an $822,663 bid with Spencer Manufacturing for a new fire truck. The vote was 6-3, and a bone of contention remains.

The city specification called for a polybody, as opposed to aluminum, which dwindled down the bidders to two from six manufacturers, reports thedailyreporter.com. During the meeting, fire officials received criticism for not obtaining bids for both styles to determine the price difference and pros and cons.

Related: Coldwater (MI) Fire Department Prepares to Order New Truck

Officials say the polybody allows for easier repairs, more durability, and a larger water tank. Any efforts to rebid would push ordering to September, which would increase the price, the report notes.

When the chassis is ready, the city will pay Spencer about 60% of the price in the next budget year, according to the report. The final payment will be due November 2023, when the apparatus is delivered. Officials say they expect to pay for the truck out of the city’s $6 million fund balance.