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

By Bill Adkins

When covering rural areas, the typical vehicle may not be sufficient for the incident at hand. At times we may need to use our imagination to complete the task. Letting our imaginations run wild prior to that incident will help when that incident arises. It is not common for a fire department to approach its councilmen or trustees for the need of a side-by-side ATV. However, there can be a need if the demographics align.

Peebles Fire Department covers Meigs Township, Oliver Township, the Village of Peebles, and the foothills of the Appalachian region in Ohio. A few years back it determined it would need a low-profile, short-wheelbase type of vehicle. Luckily, the department qualified for the ODNR firefighter property grant. This allowed it to obtain a military grade Razor for next to nothing. The only stipulation it had was to be in service within six months.

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