The Corpus Christi Fire Department is proud to announce the arrival of a new fire truck, the first of two recently purchased from Metro Fire Apparatus, the city said in a press release. This latest addition enhances the department’s ability to protect lives and property with advanced technology, improved efficiency, and greater capacity.

“We are excited to give you a first look at our latest CCFD Engine 8 proudly aboard the USS Lexington,” the fire department said in a Facebook post. “This new addition is more than just an engine, it is a testament to the trust and investment that our Corpus Christi community and city have in our department and our firefighters/paramedics.”

The new fire truck is a Spartan chassis and features a 750-gallon water tank, an increase from the department’s previous standard of 500 gallons. It also includes a 40-gallon Class B foam tank designed to combat fires that are difficult to penetrate. With the ability to stream 2,000 gallons of water per minute, the truck is among the most powerful in the fleet. 

The truck is part of the department’s transition to an updated all-red paint scheme, a standard design across the fleet. Several medic units and fire trucks have already adopted the new look. 

Additional upgrades include:

• Lower hose bed and side mount pump panel for improved ergonomics and quicker deployment.
• Four firefighter seats with pre-mounted air packs for faster readiness.
• Comprehensive medical equipment to provide life-saving care before an ambulance arrives. 

“This new fire truck represents another step in our commitment to providing the highest level of service and safety to Corpus Christi residents,” said Fire Chief Brandon Wade. “Every investment we make in modern equipment directly strengthens our ability to protect lives and property.” 

The new apparatus will be stationed at Fire Station 8 on Kostoryz Road in Council District 2, ensuring residents in the area benefit directly from the department’s continued investment in modern, efficient equipment.

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Sandra Diamond Fox
Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
(TNS)

Aug. 21—RIDGEFIELD — After voters rejected an $85.6 million plan to build a new public safety complex in Ridgefield by 71 votes in February, town officials went back to the drawing board and lowered the proposal’s cost by $8.2 million.

The new price tag is $77.4 million for the proposed police and fire facility, which would be built on a town-owned wooded area at 36 Old Quarry Road.

The town cut 3,500 square feet of space from the planned 70,000-square-foot building, reducing it to 66,500 square feet. The new plan eliminates a previously planned parking garage and no longer relocates the town’s emergency response center to the new building.

Work on a new plan began immediately after the first plan failed, Ridgefield First Selectperson Rudy Marconi said.

“We started right away, having multiple meetings with architects, a working group (of the Fire and Police Commissions and Board of Selectpersons), made revisions. We heard a lot from the public,” Marconi said.

“We’re going to do it once and we’re going to do it right,” he said of the new facility. “This building is going to be here forever. And we want to be sure that the site, that the location in the future, will be able to grow, if we have to.”

The Board of Selectpersons will set a date for a new referendum on the revised plan at its Sept. 3 meeting. Information will be presented at public information sessions scheduled for Sept. 6, Sept. 27, Oct. 4 and Oct. 25.

Ridgefield’s police station is located at 76 East Ridge Road inside a house built in the late 1800s, while the fire station is over 120 years old. The facilities have issues with flooding, heating and cooling, noncompliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and inadequate parking.

The original plan for the police and fire complex included moving in the emergency operations center, now at Yanity Gym at 60 Prospect St.

“We took that out of the plan,” Marconi said. “Ever since we opened, it’s been at Yanity. We just put some money into it. It’s perfect for us.”

Costs were also reduced in an area of the new building that Marconi referred to as the “apparatus bay.”

“It was (to be) a garage for the (fire) chief’s car, the assistant chief’s car, the fire department, as well as a shift commander” and rescue apparatus, he said.

However, the fire chiefs take their cars home at night, so a garage isn’t needed, Marconi said.

Also, the complex would be about 17 feet higher than first planned, he said.

“Originally, this building was all one level and there was an entrance with a parking garage deck that wrapped around the building with parking underneath. So it was like a parking garage with a tremendous amount of concrete. We eliminated all of that,” Marconi said.

“We’re using the topography to terrace the parking, thereby eliminating the need for a parking garage and a vast amount of concrete,” he said.

When town officials began planning the new police and fire complex six years ago, they created a grid of the town and saw each assisted living nursing facility generates 275 to 300 calls a year, Marconi said.

“We have a ton of calls from Laurel Ridge (Health Care Center) and (Benchmark at) Ridgefield Crossings — an assisted living and a nursing facility. So to move the building farther south to that direction toward Wilton would only make our response time go up, on the average,” he said.

Town officials also reviewed about nine possible locations for the new public safety complex, and w

Sofia Acosta Silva
The Day, New London, Conn.
(TNS)

Waterford — The decision on whether the town will approve a $12.6 million bond to build a new station for Oswegatchie Fire Company No. 4 is likely to be made at the Representative Town Meeting on Oct. 6.

If the RTM approves the bonding, the town would then seek bids for the project.

At an Aug. 4 RTM meeting at a packed Town Hall auditorium, the Oswegatchie Fire Station Building Committee, Silver Petrucelli Associates, and Downs Construction presented an overview of the fire station’s design and costs, including a virtual walk through of the proposed station.

I would hope that we never end up in this situation again, where we have this historic opportunity to build a new firehouse, which is a very rare thing,” said Director of Fire Service Chris Haley, responding to Representative Mary Child’s concern about the other neglected firehouses. “And I hope that we do not end up in this situation again.”

The current deteriorating station, which is 94 years old, has gone through many temporary fixes to keep it open and functioning. The four other fire stations in town also have problems that need attention, such as lack of heating and cooling, sewer backups, cracks in structures and leaks.

“What got us to this point is what we’re trying to avoid going forward, the total neglect of the stations,” said Haley about the failure to maintain the firehouses.

The proposed 9,988-square-foot station would be built in the parking lot of the current station, which will allow it to remain open during construction. The interior would include spaces such a as training/public meeting room and offices which could be accessed by the public.

Spaces for firefighters and employees that would require keycard access include bunk rooms, a kitchen, an exercise room.

The truck bays, will include bi-fold doors, with an opening time of 7 to 8 seconds, which is about half the time it takes for typical overhead doors to open, and will require less maintenance.

The new station would have a colonial home design with a red “barn” section for the apparatus bays and a white “house” section for the living quarters. It will incorporate LED lighting with automatic and dimming controls.

During the almost two-hour discussion following the presentation, Haley said a big misconception about the project is that the cost is financially irresponsible. But he called the cost of the new building as an investment that will provide 50 to 75 years of service.

Haley promised to be transparent about the cost of the project as way to demonstrate the long-term value of the investment.

He said another misconception is that building the new fire station means the other four firehouses will be neglected and therefore shut down. He stressed no firehouse would be closed.

“There’s a lot of attachment and a lot of pride associated with the firehouses, but there’s also a lot of fear. And what I hope to do is take some of the fear out,” said Haley. “Tell me what you’re worried about … And how that may impact your vote. And hopefully, I can educate you onto why this is so important to us and why it is so important to all of you as a town, and how that this station is going to benefit the entire town.

Since 2019, when the town chartered a municipal fire department — the Waterford Fire Department — the five, individually-owned, fire companies have consolidated and merged all operations under the new fire department.

Haley says he is working to fully establish and build out the Waterford Fire Department as a unified entity, a process with was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. He said

Northwood Fire Rescue Captain Christopher “Brownie” Brown, 42, died suddenly this week following a training exercise.

Brown participated in forcible entry training on Aug. 18, 2025, and called the station the following afternoon reporting severe back pain. He was transported to a local hospital, where his condition deteriorated rapidly despite CPR and advanced life support efforts. He was pronounced deceased on Aug. 19, 2025.

On Wednesday, a procession accompanied Brown’s body from Portsmouth to the state Medical Examiner’s Office in Concord.

“It is with deep regret that Chief Mark Tetreault and the Northwood Fire Department announce the line of duty passing of Christopher E. Brown,” the Northwood Fire Rescue Department said in a Facebook post. “Captain Brown was a dedicated 24-year veteran of the department, proudly following in the foot steps of his father Captain Chuck Brown, retired. Chris started his career as a Fire Explorer in Northwood.

“Throughout his years of service Chris exemplified leadership, courage and unwavering commitment to the community. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Captain Brown’s family, friends and his brothers and sisters in the Fire Service.

“Chris leave a legacy of service above self and sacrifice, he will be sorely missed and never forgotten.

“A future announcement of service will be forthcoming as we are working with the Granite State Fire Service Support Team. We ask everyone to respect the family’s privacy during this difficult time. Any questions should be directed to Family Liaison Captain Benjamin Arey at the Northwood Fire Department.”

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San Francisco, California, surrounded on three sides by water with the Pacific Ocean to the West, the Golden Gate to the North, and San Francisco Bay to the East, presents the San Francisco (CA) Fire Department (SFFD) with unique surf and cliff rescue emergencies.

Such emergencies call for specially trained firefighters using specialized equipment and trucks outfitted with the appropriate equipment and features.

Situated at the southwestern corner of the city, Station 19 firefighters respond to cliff rescues on the steep sandy cliffs leading to the beach of Fort Funston Golden Gate National Park with a 2012 Ford Super Duty F-450 XLT four-wheel-drive four-door Super Cab truck with a Reading utility body named Cliff Rescue 19 (CR 19). Another unit, Cliff Rescue 14, is a two-door truck operating out of Station 14 in the Richmond District that responds to rocky cliff emergencies along the Golden Gate.

CR 19 OVERVIEW

“The 2012 Ford [F-450] was previously used as a Port Response Vehicle, then used by the Department’s Bureau of Equipment prior to being reassigned as a Cliff Rescue Unit. It is a 2012 model truck but was not used as a Cliff Rescue Unit until 2016. There was no delay in outfitting the unit; it simply had other duties prior to this assignment,” says Lieutenant Mariano Elias, spokesperson for the SFFD. “There are no specific modifications to the vehicle [by the SFFD’s maintenance and modifications workshop].”

Before CR 19, there was a smaller 2000 Ford F-150 XLT four-wheel-drive pickup. “The previous [Coastal Rescue pickup] had a narrower profile with less storage space,” says Elias. “The design of the current CR 19 is preferrable in this regard as it allows space for more equipment. The Coastal Rescue Unit designation was removed when Surf Rescue 14 and CR 19 were specialized over time.” The function of CR 19 at a rope rescue is to carry the ropes and rope rescue equipment, provide transportation on unpaved roads, and often serve as the anchor point in rope rescue systems. SFFD does not use all-terrain vehicles, M-Gator, or other trucks for sandy cliff rescues at Fort Funston.

1 The San Francisco (CA) Fire Department’s 2012 Ford F-450 Cliff Rescue truck in front of Station 19. [Photos by Lieutenant Mariano Elias, San Francisco (CA) Fire Department.]

2 CR19’s Ford F-450 Super Duty’s interior showing the Motorola APX8500 for the base radio, emergency lights and siren controls. It also carries a Motorola APX 8000XE portable radio on the center console. Note the Bushnell binoculars in the pouch by the passenger’s seat belt fastener and the dog treats in the driver’s door tray.

CR 19’S INTERIOR

CR 19’s interior contains a Motorola APX8500 for the base radio and a Motorola APX 8000XE portable radio on the center console. There is no mobile data terminal or keyboard in CR19. The interior is mainly factory stock except for the emergency equipment controls.

The driver’s interior door pocket tray contains dog treats and tennis balls for luring dogs toward firefighters since cliff rescue incidents at Fort Funston often involve dogs separated from their owners and left stranded on the steep sandy cliffs. Dog owners can take their dogs off leash at Fort Funston, but how the dogs behave once unleashed is unpredictable. Sometimes the dogs get stuck in the sandy cliffs, and the owners go after them for a rescue, getting stuck as well and having to call 911.

CR 19’S EXTERIOR Read more

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