Four of West Chester (OH) Fire Department’s seven pumpers were out of commission recently, local12.com reported.

The solution, according to a West Chester fire official, is to buy additional vehicles. The department bought a demo truck from Vogelpohl Fire Equipment and a gently-used 2024 rig from Tyler Mountain Volunteer Fire Department in West Virginia.

The two apparatus totaled $1.6 million, the report said. The vehicles will be paid for through the township’s tax incremental funding (TIF) districts.

The fire official said the department gets two relatively new engines that will serve them well into the future, according to the report.

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Kaitlynn Myers
Kokomo Tribune, Ind.
(TNS)

Kokomo Fire station No. 6 is getting a new home, but it won’t be any time soon. The station has been demolished and a new, two-story facility is being built on the same site.

The Kokomo Board of Public Works and Safety met earlier this week and approved a request from the fire department for funds to get set up in the new space and for the demolition of the old space.

Station No. 6 was originally built in 1963. Updated restrooms and a new HVAC system were installed in 2013.

The old station officially closed in July, and the firefighters have been temporarily relocated to a building that had housed Adams Auto Group. That’s just two blocks west of the station site, so the department remains within its original respond district.

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The board approved the department’s request for $150,389.75 to cover the demolition and the expenses of setting up shop elsewhere while the new station is being built. The entire project is estimated to run nearly $9 million.

Fire Chief Paul Edwards said the entire project should take anywhere from 14 to 18 months.

“That is what we’re being told right now,” he said, “but that’s all dependent on the weather.”

The Kokomo Fire Departments currently has about 90 career firefighters manning six stations.

© 2025 the Kokomo Tribune (Kokomo, Ind.). Visit www.kokomotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Jack Lakowsky
The Day, New London, Conn.
(TNS)

East Lyme — For years, the fire department has relied on inflatable boats and help from neighboring departments when people were in trouble on the water.

But not much longer, First Selectman Dan Cunningham said Tuesday. The fire department’s 1969 Boston Whaler will return to service in the next few weeks, fitted with a new engine that cost about $19,000.

The engine should last 10 years, Cunningham said.

Recent incidents compelled Cunningham to make buying the engine a priority, he said. One was a 2 a.m. rescue of a boater who got stranded off of the Giant’s Neck beach neighborhood last winter.

Another rescue that brought attention to the need for a functioning rescue vessel, Fire Chief Bill Bundy said, was of a couple in the Niantic River. In July, East Lyme and Waterford emergency services responded to Powers Lake when a family’s canoe capsized.

Last August, the nighttime rescue of four women from the dock at Cini Memorial Park drew a huge response, with emergency crews and K-9s from East Lyme, Waterford, Stonington, Old Lyme, the Coast Guard and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection responding. Officials launched a marine rescue when the darkness caused them to lose sight of a woman, who was intoxicated and refused to leave the water. She was located about 2 a.m.

“It’s still a small response boat, so we’ll have to rely on mutual aid, but it increases our capability to respond,” Bundy said. “We’ve had some occasions where we could’ve deployed it.”

The department has relied on inflatables, Cunningham said, which work in a pinch but can tear.

Used extensively by Navy Seals and the U.S. Coast Guard in the Vietnam War, Boston Whalers are known for their indestructible hulls, thanks to a revolutionary design, Cunningham said.

“It can’t sink,” Cunningham said. “And ours is in great shape.”

The department has another 2021 rescue vessel and, Bundy said, is in the process of finding a vendor for another, more modern apparatus expected to cost about $250,000, taken from the town’s capital budget.

j.lakowsky@theday.com

© 2025 The Day (New London, Conn.). Visit www.theday.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Two firefighters were seriously injured in a fire apparatus rollover on Friday, according to a report.

WHAS11.com reported that two firefighters with the Raywick Fire Department were responding to an incident when the crash occurred.

The report indicated that one of the firefighters was airlifted in critical condition to the University of Louisville Hospital, while the other member was airlifted to the University of Kentucky Medical Center in serious condition.

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Christopher Leach
Lexington Herald-Leader
(TNS)

A man was charged with a DUI Wednesday evening after police say he crashed a Knox County EMS vehicle into a street sign while driving impaired, according to court documents.

The collision happened around 8 p.m. on Kentucky Route 1304 near Paynes Creek Road in Hinkle. Court documents say Steven Jones, 60, told a Kentucky State Police trooper he swerved to avoid a deer.

The trooper smelled alcohol coming from Jones, according to court documents. Jones told police he had two beers after he got off work around 1:30 p.m.

Jones was off duty when the collision occurred, Knox County EMS confirmed to the Herald-Leader.

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After the collision, Jones turned around on Paynes Creek Road and reported it to Knox County dispatch, court documents say. The state police trooper investigated the crash, as it’s against Knox County Sheriff’s Office policy to investigate a collision involving a county-owned vehicle.

Jones performed field sobriety tests and showed signs of impairment. Court documents say he changed his previous statement, admitting to drinking three large beers, and was arrested.

Jones took a preliminary breath test at the Knox County Detention Center and registered a blood alcohol concentration of 0.14, nearly twice the legal limit to drive, according to court documents. Jones did not consent to a blood test.

It was Jones’ first time being charged with DUI, according to court records. He was released from custody on his own personal recognizance on Thursday.

Jones is scheduled to be arraigned in Knox District Court on Monday, Aug. 25.

©2025 Lexington Herald-Leader. Visit kentucky.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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