Dexter (NM) Fire and Rescue will receive $300,000, while the Berrendo Fire Department will be awarded $134,000 in state grants for new equipment, reports rdrnews.com.

Dexter fire officials say their money will be used to cover the cost of a 1,500-gallon-per-minute tanker, as the department currently has a 1981 semi tractor-trailer tanker that carries 6,800 gallons of water but only pumps 70 gallons per minute, according to the report.

Berrendo fire officials say their funds will be used to cover the cost of replacing self-contained breathing apparatuses.

The grants are among the $20 million for the 100-plus fire departments in 28 NM counties authorized by the New Mexico Fire Grant Council. The grant money comes from the state’s 3% tax on automobile and fire insurance.

Leechburg (PA) firefighter Jim Vigna recently did something that few have done in the last 50 years: He started the company’s retired 1935 Seagrave fire truck, reports triblive.com.

The department acquired the roughly 25-foot, two-person, open-cab truck the year it was built in Columbus (OH), and it served the area until 1969—four years after Vigna joined, according to the report. Officials say Vigna, 79, is the only firefighter still alive to have driven the truck to fires when it was in service.

It took him 10 years to refurbish the apparatus; officials say the front and back ends were damaged, the tailgate was warped from towing, and it rusted from decades of underuse. The report notes he now regularly maintains it and it’s still used in parades and funerals—though of course not for calls anymore.

The majority of its equipment is original—and thus obsolete, and in some cases even unsafe—and each cylinder has two sparkplugs; there’s no fuel pump, power steering, or power anything, officials say. Its top speed is 40 mph, it holds just 100 gallons of water, and it can be started with a crank if need be. The rear carries four firefighters, the report says.

Leechburg firefighter Jim Vigna revs up the 1935 Seagrave pic.twitter.com/UmSdULPApv

— Mike D. (@MikeJdiVittorio) November 2, 2021

Arlington (TN) Fire Department officials recently held a grand-opening ceremony for the department’s new, $4.7 million Station 2, reports dailymemphian.com, which is more than double the size of Station 1.

The station, the first built in Arlington in 23 years, is a 13,500-square-foot facility sitting on a 2-acre parcel at the northwest corner of Donelson and Airline roads, the report says.

Arlington bought the land in 2018, and ViktorHall Construction completed the work, which features brick and stone, a tower at the entrance, and glass doors. Also, administrative offices, a 24-seat classroom training space, a fitness center, laundry area, and an 11-bay bed sleeping hall that will accommodate the station’s two active crews of four to five personnel, the report says.

The station’s location aims to improve response times for calls on the interstate and Tennessee 385, officials say. The station was paid for by money from its reserves and the department did not have to finance any of it.

A $1.2 million 107-foot Pierce Ascendant pumper fire engine with ladder, Truck 71, will remain at Fire Station No. 1, while Truck 72 will be housed at the new station.

A new, $2.7 million fire station, Station 3, is being built in Lebanon (MO), reports ktts.com, and is expected for completion by spring 2022.

The new facility, which will be located at Beck and Ivy lanes, will also serve as the Lebanon public safety center.

Voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase back in 2019 to fund the station.

By Alan M. Petrillo

Spencer Manufacturing Inc. discovered a new customer through attendance at a couple of regional fire trade shows, and after much discussion about the type of apparatus body needed, the fire department chose Spencer to build its new pumper.

Jordan Whitford, direct salesman for Spencer Manufacturing, says that he first met Woodhaven (MI) Fire Department truck committee members at the Novi, Michigan fire trade show. “We had a Solid-Poly™ pumper at that show, and after examining it closely, they told us they were interested in a truck made with the same kind of body,” Whitford says. “Woodhaven had a complex design that they wanted for their pumper, including a low hose bed, an overall length restriction on the rig, the ability to carry hydraulic rescue tools, and a godly amount of compartment space.”

The end result is a custom pumper on a Spartan Metro Star™ chassis and cab with a Spencer Solid-Poly body, powered by a 450-horsepower (hp) Cummins L9 diesel engine, and an Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission, says Ben Bregg, Spencer’s sales engineer. The vehicle has a wheelbase of 220 inches, an overall length of 34 feet 8 inches, and an overall height of 9 feet 11 inches. “The department wanted a top-mount pumper because they cover a lot of highway areas around Detroit,” Bregg points out. “With a top-mount, the vehicle operator is up and out of the roadway, and has a good view of the scene around him.”

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