The city of Columbus (OH) hopes to build a 25,000-square-foot, $12.7 million fire station near New Albany in the hopes of getting additional coverage, reports dispatch.com.

Officials have proposed building Station 36 on a 3.7-acre plot of city-owned property at the southeast corner of Central College and Harlem roads, the report says. There is no address yet, as the city has not obtained a building permit.

The facility would house 30 firefighters and at least one engine and an EMS vehicle, officials say. Construction would begin in 2023 and take between 18 and 24 months.

The station is part of the city’s proposed $1.26 billion capital-improvements budget up for a final vote November 1.

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Historical 688-acre property undamaged following intense wildfire

Clayton, MO 28 October 2021 – The Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara, California, is now safe from the Alisal Fire, which has burned more than 17,000 acres. The Young Americas Foundation, owners of the Reagan Ranch, took a proactive approach to protecting the Ranch from wildfire earlier this year when they treated the 688-acre property with PHOS-CHEK^® FORTIFY^® long-term fire retardant. Produced by Perimeter Solutions, who provided the retardant at no cost, PHOS-CHEK FORTIFY is a ground-based long-term fire retardant that is formulated, so that one application provides protection from wildfires that will continue to remain effective even after a significant rain event. With the Alisal Fire nearly contained, PHOS-CHEK FORTIFY is being credited as part of the solution that saved the Ranch from damage.

PHOS-CHEK FORTIFY helps render vegetation and other fuels where it’s applied nonflammable. The long-term fire retardant is formulated to have extended durability and greater adherence to vegetation and other fuels to provide protection from wildfires that will continue to remain effective even after a significant rain event. Unlike retardant dropped from aircraft, which is colored red to help pilots track where the retardant is dropped, the PHOS-CHEK FORTIFY solution is clear.

This past July, a team from Perimeter Solutions applied thousands of gallons of PHOS-CHEK FORTIFY to areas of the Ranch that were considered at high-risk from wildfire damage. The company left two additional totes of retardant in the event that it was needed, and the extra stock of PHOS-CHEK FORTIFY proved to be valuable as the Alisal Fire continued to grow in intensity over the past couple of weeks.

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“Although we have invested a lot in our fire abatement systems at Rancho del Cielo, we wanted to take an even more proactive approach to protecting the property from wildfires, which present the greatest threat to the future of the Reagan Ranch,” says Andrew Coffin, Vice President of Young America’s Foundation and Director of the Reagan Ranch. “Since the Alisal Fire started to grow in intensity, planes hav

San Rafael officials recently approved contracts to rebuild San Rafael (CA) Fire Department Stations 54 and 55, reports marinij.com.

The contract went to Wickman Development and Construction Inc. for $8.9 million with an $880,900 contingency, the report says. San Rafael also awarded a $280,300 contract to Loving Campos Associates and Architects Inc.—the firm that designed the project—for supervision and administration.

Stations 54 and 55 were built in the 1960s and require myriad upgrades. The former’s work will add a second story to elevate living quarters above the flood zone and will feature an elevator, accessibility upgrades, a new gym, a kitchen, and separate sleeping and restroom space for male and female staff, the report says.

The wood-framed apparatus bay at Station 55 on Point San Pedro Road will see its living quarters demolished and rebuilt, though in a single-story structure. There will also be an onsite emergency generator added, according to the report.

Construction is set to begin in January and will continue for 10 to 12 months, officials say.

The work is part of the city’s $73 million essential facilities project to repair and replace key emergency services buildings. It was paid for through a portion of sales tax dollars collected from Measure E, which was approved in 2013. The new contract approvals kick off the second phase of the project, the report notes.

More information about the project can be found here.

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Video via fox2now

The Washington Park (IL) Fire Department—as well as residents, city officials, and other public departments—is trying to pick up the pieces after a massive fire Tuesday destroyed part of its headquarters in a municipal building, reports fox2now.com.

Flames engulfed the multi-complex building—which houses the city’s fire, police, and public works departme

The plans for Station 10—which would be located on the east side of Columbia (MO), at the intersection of East Richland Road and East St. Charles Road—sit as a bone of contention with several property owners in the area, reports columbiamissourian.com.

Many local, angry property owners Wednesday evening attended an interested-parties meeting regarding the city’s plan to turn their land into a fire station.

They aired their disdain with how the city has encroached on their land in the past, some of which was close to the proposed area for the fire station, according to the report.

The plan is still in its planning stages; the land for Station 10 has not yet been acquired, and the next step will be to take this plan to City Council to pursue property acquisition, officials say.

Fire Apparatus reported in August that Columbia is putting Station 11 in southwest Columbia, and officials expect to break ground on that later this year.

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