The Springfield (IL) Fire Department is getting a series of upgrades in the city’s budget, including $6 million for new apparatus, new stations, and new staff as part of the department’s station and apparatus initiatives, reports newschannel20.com.

“This is a gamechanger for providing services to our community. Thank you from the men and women of the Springfield Fire Department!” the department writes on Facebook.

Officials say the funding is coming at the right time, as 13 of the department’s vehicles are more than 15 years old, and eight are older than 20. A Center for Public Safety Management study suggests 15 as the maximum vehicle age.

The new trucks will cut the department’s average apparatus age in half. The ball is already rolling with regards to the department applying for new rigs, which boast an 18- to 22-month delivery time.

The report notes that the department is still waiting on a new engine and truck bought from last year’s budget, but supply-chain issues slowed production and an end-of-summer delivery is anticipated.

See the entire council meeting here:

Following last week’s approval by the village board, a new, $1.3 million 100-foot aerial is expected to arrive in Rosemont (IL) in about a year, reports journal-topics.com.

Related Articles:
Photos: New Rosemont (IL), Des Plaines Apparatus
Chicago (IL) and Rosemont Fire Apparatus Operate at Commercial Building Fire

The apparatus, costing a total of $1,383,270, will serve as the department’s second aerial. Last year, Rosemont donated its oldest ladder truck to the Robbins (IL) Fire Department; the other truck in its fleet has been in service since 2009, according to the report.

The aerial will be housed at Rosemont’s main station on River Road.

Casa Grande (AZ) city council recently approved a $7 million project to build a new fire station at the northwest corner of the Pinal Avenue and Rodeo Road intersection, reports pinalcentral.com.

It comes with a design price tag of around $691,000 and the overall $7 million budget. CORE Construction, with design firm HDA Architects, was awarded the bid for the project design, the report notes. The firm has designed other local projects.

The single-story facility will have four bays and a half-bay for an ambulance, and it will provide sleeping quarters for 10 firefighters, a large kitchen, dining area, and a training room. Supply-chain issues are expected to make it a 14-month project at the earliest, according to the report.

If the environment is the spine for the Methow Valley, it almost had its back broken in the past year. While it is still standing, the threat has made residents here start to think about an uncomfortable truth. "Do you believe in climate change? I said, 'I don't have to believe, it's here. I know it's here.
- PUB DATE: 2/28/2022 12:17:17 PM - SOURCE: KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

Kennebunk (ME) Fire Rescue and the Kennebunkport Fire Department both need a new ladder truck, which would cost more than $1 million each. So, to ease the burden on taxpayers, Kennebunk officials voted to form a new task force to explore sharing fire services, something which Kennebunkport officials are also doing, reports seacoastonline.com.

The two departments are tinkering with the idea of sharing other resources—staff, apparatus, and equipment—to increase efficiency and save taxpayer money, according to the report. The Kennebunk plan, still in its early stages, also has the possibility of forming such a group with another town.

Related: Kennebunk (ME) Votes to Dispose of Fire Apparatus

The task force will comprise town officials, officers, firefighters from both towns, and a facilitator.

Kennebunk has four fire stations: Central Station Rescue & Rescue at 1 Summer St.; Washington Hose Station at 159 Port Rd.; West Kennebunk Station at 80 Thompson Rd.; and the Blueberry Plains Station at 1 Clearbrook Crossing.

Kennebunkport has three: Kennebunkport Village Station at 32 North St.; Cape Porpoise Station at 172 Main St.; and the Goose Rocks Beach Fire Company at 2 Winter Harbor Rd.

A date for the first meeting has not yet been set, but officials hope to kick things off in about a month.