More than $25,000 worth of equipment was recently taken from the fire station in Whatcom County (WA) Fire District 16 in Acme, according to a report published by KOMONEWS.

The television station reported firefighters discovered the theft when they arrived at the fire station on Saturday night to respond to a call. They found generators, saws, tools, flood lights, and a new battery-powered extrication tool, according to the report.

It was the second fire station in the district to get hit by thieves recently, according to the television station, that reported Oso was burglarized earlier in January.

Investigators believe the thief forced a door to gain entry into the fire station and then checked every compartment on the apparatus in the station, the television station reported. The tools match other equipment taken from neighboring stations over the past year, according to the report. Firefighters in District 16 sought backup equipment and borrowed tools from other departments to fill in the gap created by the theft, according to the report, that commented it might take the tiny volunteer department years to replace the stolen equipment. Police say the theft is under investigation and they could not comment, the television station reported.

According to a report from WPDE, a new fire station is expected to be built at the intersection of Highway 90 and Highway 22 in Horry County, South Carolina, that will house career firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics, said Horry County Councilman, Bill Howard.

There are currently two volunteer firehouses along Highway 90, a station in Nixonville and another in Wampee, which are currently serving residents living along the Highway 90 corridor, but more help is on the way.

Howard said that Horry County Fire Rescue is applying for the FEMA SAFER grant which, if awarded the money, will add more than $6.7 million to the county’s fund for the new fire station, which he expects to be built sometime this year.

Howard also said that adding this station will improve ISO ratings for homeowners, saving them money. This rating is used by insurance companies to reflect how close or serviced communities are for emergencies, like fires.

Howard said the county will be able to adequately fund the new career first responders with or without the FEMA grant, and they have already made budget provisions for it.

Horry County Council is expected to discuss the FEMA grants again Tuesday night at their meeting.

Fall River (MA) firefighters were hampered by illegally parked cars as they fought a house fire during a raging blizzard on Saturday night, according to a report published by 10WJAR.

The television station reported that the first firefighters to arrive had to run up the street to get to the scene as the fire truck they were on was blocked by cars on both sides of the road and one in particular that was parked too close to the intersection.

About 80 percent of the building collapsed due to the fire which displaced 11 people, according the report.

A total of 510 cars were ticketed and 30 were towed by tow truck operators who had to shovel snow to hook chains on the cars for removal, the television station reported.

City officials are talking about increasing parking fines to prevent similar issues from happening in the future, according to the report.

No injuries were reported after a car slammed into the back of a Baton Rouge (LA) fire truck blocking the scene of a previous accident on Saturday, according to a report published by The Advocate.

The newspaper reported the small sedan hit the fire truck at about 2:30 am  as it was blocking the scene of another accident at the intersection of Florida Boulevard and North 19th Street. The crash happened even before crews exited the apparatus to tend to the patient in the crash, the paper reported.

Baton Rouge firefighters used the incident as a way to remind drivers to be courteous and patient when they see fire apparatus blocking a scene, the paper reported.

According to a report from MyNews4, Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue (TMFR) in Reno, Nevada, took receipt of a new industrial washer and dryer thanks to a $33,000 grant from the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation.

TMFR will use the washer and dryer as a critical cleaning tool to help remove dangerous carcinogens and toxins from its turnout gear.

Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation has granted more than $369,000 to Reno-area first responder organizations over the past year.

A check presentation was held at the new Firehouse Subs location in the Keystone Commons Monday morning.