Emergency responders have been responding to many more calls on Monday, and in some cases it's taken twice as long as normal to get to those calls. Ambulances at Advanced Life Systems are chained up today, but those chains mean they can only drive 20 to 25 miles per hour, meaning it could take twice as long to respond to calls.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KIMA-TV CBS 29 Yakima

Officials have agreed to finance a new fire truck for the Freeport (PA) Volunteer Fire Department, reports triblive.com.

Council recently voted to approve a 10-year, $250,000 loan through Volunteer’s Financial Services at a 3.35% fixed rate; that plus $300,000 in capital projects funds will be used to cover the cost of a new custom Pierce apparatus, the report says.

Annual loan payments are listed at about $29,000 and would be covered by the $30,000 yearly contribution the borough gives to the fire department.

The apparatus will replace a 1987 Mack Grumman engine that recently failed a pump test.

The department is currently working on paperwork to finalize the loan; officials say the fire truck committee will meet one more time before production to finalize specifications, the report says. Officials estimate it won’t be ready for delivery for at least 15 months.

Proposed specs include a tank of at least 750 gallons and a pump that can handle 2,000 gallons per minute.

Authorities responding to separate house fires early Monday morning said one man was killed after his home was destroyed by the blaze and another is recovering in the hospital. The Poulsbo Fire Department was battling a house fire when they were called to another in Sawdust Hill. Authorities said the routes to the house were blocked by fallen trees, making it difficult to get to the house and battle the flames.
- PUB DATE: 1/3/2022 5:31:54 PM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000

The Capital Beltway was shut down in Montgomery County (MD) Sunday morning after a driver crashed into a fire truck that was responding to a previous crash, reports nbcwashington.com.

All lanes of the Outer Loop of the Beltway, Interstate 495, were closed between Colesville Road and Georgia Avenue for nearly an hour, police officials say.

Traffic Advisory – OL I495 beltway just before Georgia Avenue, fire engine (PE716) struck on beltway, striking vehicle with entrapment, trapped driver has been extricated, all lanes blocked pic.twitter.com/Kw77ULsrZa

— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) January 2, 2022

A Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service crew was responding to a minor crash around 8 a.m. when another driver crashed into the apparatus. The driver of the car had to be extricated.

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No one on the apparatus was hurt, and three other people, including one from the original crash, were not taken to hospitals.

ATTENTION MOTORISTS: It's likely drivers will encounter EMERGENCY VEHICLES in your travels..SLOW DOWN & MOVE OVER approaching Emergency Fire/Rescue/EMS /PD/Tow Vehicles @mcfrs *Hear Us, *See Us, *Clear for Us! SEE: https://t.co/oGN9zgUcxq Give Full Attention SLOW DOWN & BE SAFE pic.twitter.com/CiNkXNa0nf

— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) January 2, 2022

More than six years after first stating its need for a new ladder truck, the Cumberland (MD) Fire Department has now taken delivery of a $1.3 million Sutphen 100-foot aerial, reports times-news.com.

The whole process took about two years, officials say.

For the past few weeks before the truck’s arrival, the department was operating sans ladder, as its 1992 Sutphen was out of service, the report says. The elder Sutphen now resides at the county’s Department of Emergency Services facility at Mexico Farms.

The purchase was funded as part of $3.8 million raised in a municipal bond sale in 2019, the report says.