A friend of the Elsie-Vinemaple Rural Fire Protection District recently donated a Wildland Urban Interface Engine, a Type III fire apparatus, the department said on its Web site.

“Today is a BIG DAY for Elsie Vinemaple RFPD,” the department said. “Just over a week ago a discussion started with a friend of the fire service. That conversation turned to our needs, and ended with a donation that a ‘thank you’ just isn’t big enough to even begin to show our appreciation.”

The Wildland Urban Interface Engine was recently retired from Northern Sonoma County Fire District. The engine is in excellent condition and has just over 16,000 miles on it. Featuring an International four-wheel drive chassis, the ability to carry 500 gallons of water and a pump capacity of 500 gallons per minute, an apparatus like this can be used for wildland fires as well as structure fires. With its 4×4 capability the department can increase its mobility in severe weather, and can drive in high water.

The department will take the next few weeks outfitting the unit with equipment and completing driver training. Once ready to go in service this heavy brush engine will rotate between Station 1 in the summer and Station 2 in the winter.

“In a tribute to a massive donation the Heavy Brush will be nicknamed ‘Mama Ang’ in recognition of Angela R., who purchased this unit and donated it to Elsie-Vinemaple RFPD to better serve our community,” the department said.

“Angela, from all of us, THANK YOU may never be enough, but your gracious support of the fire service has touched so many and will for years to come. From all of us at Elsie Fire, thank you for being our friend and our supporter!”

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The Hepburn Township Volunteer Fire Company is donating a 2000 American LaFrance pumper to be loaded with equipment provided by Picture Rocks Volunteer Fire Department to Burnsville, North Carolina Volunteer Fire Department, sungazette.com reported.

The apparatus and equipment will be delivered next week to a flood-ravaged community in western North Carolina destroyed by Hurricane Helene flooding.

The Hepburn Township Volunteer Fire Company made the following Facebook post Wednesday, Oct. 9:

“We are deeply grateful for the community’s support during the flooding event that took place in our area this past August. In light of the flooding in the south, we recognize the importance of supporting other fire departments in their time of need.

“When flooding affects an entire community like it did in Yancy County, North Carolina, the role of reliable emergency responders becomes even more crucial. We wanted to do our part in helping. Many of you know that our department purchased a new engine this past spring. We were going to originally sell our previous engine, the American LaFrance. However, our membership has decided to donate it to Burnsville, North Carolina where the need for an apparatus is essential to provide emergency services to their community. The engine will be delivered to them sometime next week. Our hope is that it will serve their community, just as great as it served our community.”

By Bill Adams

Shortly after World War II, the late Paul Harvey had a radio talk show that ran for nearly 60 years. It featured odd-ball and interesting short stories. He’d tell 99% of a story and then, often after a commercial break, he’d follow-up with an equally interesting or surprising ending and the catchphrase “and now you know the rest of the story.” 

After listening to Harvey for years, it became second nature to look for more in a story. His influence as well as reaching Raisin Squad maturity level (old age), and an inquisitive mind makes me guilty of always waiting for or wanting a sequel. Two recent Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment articles sparked my interest. Forgive the wandering off topic; that’s also an age thing. 

Money

Al Petrillo’s recent article (https://www.fireapparatusmagazine.com/features/melrose-ma-fd-returns-to-seagrave-for-another-tractor-drawn-aerial/) about a new tiller (ladder truck) purchased in Melrose, Massachusetts pointed out the new rig pretty much mirrored its 2007 Seagrave TDA (tractor drawn aerial) with one big exception. “The biggest change on the new tiller was that they dropped the generator and went with two Honda 2-kW portable generators, along with a lot more outlets on the truck to charge their assortment of battery-operated tools.”   

What started the money rant? Being an inquisitive white hair, I wanted to know the difference in cost, something vendors usually don’t discuss in the open. Several apparatus vendors would not go on-the-record when asked about the cost of a 10-kW onboard generator. They claimed there were too many variables which included what kind of generator, how much it costs in a crate, shipping costs, where its mounted affects installation costs, and extras like cord reel(s) and the number of outlets. That is understandable. An off-the-record budget price ranged from $30,000-$35,000 dollars.

Kevin Steeves, an old friend, semi-raisin, and former volunteer fire chief is the owner of Tele-Lite, Inc. in Rochester, New York. Tele-Lite is also a Honda dealer. Steeves says depending on the options, the list price of a Honda 2-kW generator is between $1,400-$1,500. $3,000 versus $30,000 is a pretty big spread. But wait – that’s not the whole story! 

The last sentence in Petrillo’s article is important. It mentioned battery-operated tools, which today runs the gamut from handheld reciprocating saws to hydraulic rescue tools (HRT) and smoke ejectors. The cost of ba

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