According to a report from The Ellsworth American, the people of Orland, Maine, voted 27-4 during a special town meeting February 3 to purchase a new fire apparatus to replace its primary engine, with a cost of about $322,000.

The Orland Fire Department’s (OFD’s) main truck had been losing parts and can no longer be inspected because of rust, among other issues, said OFD Chief Bob Conary.

The new truck will arrive to the department in three to four months.

Conary said that the new truck will be a stock unit. Adding customizations would have added an additional $100,000. The town is paying cash for the truck from a capital reserve fund.

Conary also said their double-frame International fire truck had corrosion which began to separate the two frames. Parts were also falling off of the frame, so it was time for a change.

As anyone who’s had to replace a vehicle in recent months has discovered, it’s not an ideal time to do so with the chip shortage, among other issues.

Conary said the price for the vehicle went up $5,000 a few days ago because quotes only last about 30 days.

The fate of the old engine is yet to be determined. Conary said that it has no trade-in value because it’s “non-inspectable.” He also stated that the new truck will help with insurance ratings for Orland’s property owners.

The ratings are determined by the amount of water fire departments can bring on their initial response. Thus, mutual aid is crucial in rural Maine, but it doesn’t affect those particular ratings.

Amid a national EMS staffing crisis, Washtenaw County (MI) fire departments are taking matters into their own hands, reports mlive.com.

On Tuesday, Scio Township became the second recent Ann Arbor-area community to buy its own emergency apparatus. It will allocate $260,000 of the township’s $1.88 million in federal COVID relief to buy and equip it, the report says.

The purchase comes during a historic EMT and paramedic shortage at Huron Valley Ambulance (HVA), the 40-year-old nonprofit ambulance service that handles all the county’s patient transport. The Chelsea Area Fire Authority last year also bought one, partly due to concerns over HVA response delays.

The ambulance service admits its staffing strain, saying about one in four positions is vacant.

According to a report from NBC6, Lauderhill (FL) Fire Rescue (LFR) firefighters from Rescue 30 were captured on camera preventing a man from carjacking their rescue truck Tuesday night at the Lauderhill Fire Station.

The members were returning from a previous emergency call when they saw Freddie Joseph Ross, 31, run toward the station and scale the gate to the parking lot, the LFR said in a news release Thursday.

As the firefighters confronted Ross, he became aggressive and tried entering the driver’s side of the truck, which he did through the window.

Ross activated the emergency lights and placed the truck in reverse. The firefighters managed to safely stop the vehicle before it was driven to a roadway.

Ross was taken into custody and has been hospitalized since Tuesday night.

The pending charges against Ross have not yet been released.

The city of Laurinburg (NC) Wednesday opened bids for the construction of the new North Fire Station, reports laurinburgexchange.com.

The city received four bids from general contractors, which included a base bid plus five alternates of work to be added to the total project, according to the report.

Officials say that the total project bids ranged from about $2.78 million to $3.39 million.

 A Palatine fire engine overturned after a crash with a minivan Thursday morning.

The Palatine Fire Department received a call for a roll-over accident around 9:30 Thursday morning at the intersection of Quentin and Palatine Rd, public information officer Alec Lowe said in a tweet.

No serious injures were reported.

The Palatine Fire Department received a call for a roll-over accident around 9:30 this morning at the intersection of Quentin and Palatine Rd! One of Palatine Engines collided with a mini van and flipped on it's side! No injures were reported! #PalatineFireDepartment pic.twitter.com/5qiGocs3Qs

— Lieutenant/Coach ALEC LOWE (@LieutenantLowe) February 10, 2022