The annual fall pep rally ended in an unusual manner at Hoosac Valley (MA) Middle and High School Friday night as the Cheshire (MA) Fire Department’s brush pumper truck almost got stuck on an old football practice field, reports berkshireeagle.com.

Following the rally, the department moved its apparatus into position to fully extinguish the bonfire’s remains. However, the report says, the field was wetter than originally thought and the truck sank almost to its axles.

A rope and chain were attached to the truck, and members of the football team and other students helped push it out.

Dickson County officials are planning to buy six new pumpers for rural fire departments in the Dickson County Fire Rescue district, according to a report published by the Tennessean.

The county commissioners approved the purchase earlier this month and agreed to buy the pumpers at a cost of about $275,000 each, according to the paper, which added that the trucks will have 1,500-gpm pumps and 1,000-gallon tanks.

To pay for the new apparatus, the county will borrow $1.7 million on a two-year note, the paper reported.

The six departments slated to get the apparatus include Claylick, Cumberland Furnace, Dickson County Fire and Rescue, Harpeth Ridge, Sylvia-Yellow Creek and Tennessee City.

The vehicles will be owned by the county for 10 years and leased to the departments due to the borrowing arrangements, the paper reported.

The Rochester (MN) Fire Department Monday afternoon showed off its two new apparatus—Truck 42 and Engine 5—which feature new idle reduction technology that officials say will reduce fuel usage by an estimated 50% each year, reports kttc.com.

The way the system is designed, officials say, is when the truck is idling the computer takes over and after a certain amount of time, if the battery is fully charged, the engine will shut off automatically. It will run off lithium-ion batteries until it knows it has to recharge.

Truck 42 will replace a truck more than 20 years old, while Engine 5 replaces a 15-year-old truck, the report says.

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Schenectady (NY) officials have agreed to process of lease-purchasing three new fire trucks with a total cost of $2.6 million, according to a report published by The Daily Gazette.

The newspaper reported Rosenbauer has been selected to build a new 100-foot aerial platform and two custom pumpers for Schenectady with the plan to take possession of the new apparatus in about 14 months.

The city got a discount of about $100,000 for pre-purchase payment and an interest rate of 2.2 percent, the paper reported, adding the new trucks are being purchased through a program called Sourcewell, a consortium used by New York and other states nationwide.

The city is on a 5-year cycle to replace apparatus with the Garrison Fire & Rescue Corp., with which the city has had a 30-year relationship, according to the report.

The newspaper said the city won’t have to make a payment on the lease purchase until 2023.

Bill Lukitsch

The Kansas City Star

(MCT)

Oct. 12—One person was taken to an area hospital after crashing into a Kansas City Fire Department truck that was responding to a call near the city’s Mount Cleveland neighborhood, according to police.

Police say the crash happened just before 7 p.m. near the intersection of 51st Street and Cleveland Avenue. A rescue pumper was stopped facing south in the roadway with its emergency lights on when a Chevrolet sedan crashed into the rear of the truck, Capt. Leslie Foreman, a police spokeswoman, said in a statement.

The driver was listed in serious condition as of Monday night. None of the KCFD crew was injured, according to police.

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