The Shenandoah City Council is expected to approve a USDA grant totaling $500,000 for the purchase of a new aerial fire truck, reports KMA Land.

The new truck is expected to serve for the next 25 years. It will replace the existing ladder truck that no longer meets federal fire truck safety standards.

Fire officials looked at fire trucks in other communities before deciding on a new model.

Construction continues on Florence fire stations, reports SCNow.

The stations are being moved to accommodate annexations in west Florence that make it difficult to meet response time requirements.

The new stations are expected to be complete in December, a month ahead of schedule.

The costs of constructing the stations are included in a bond issue along with other projects.

The Dilworth fire department is seeking support to build a new fire station or renovate the existing building, reports AM 1100 FM.

The current fire station is 40 years old and fire officials feel they have outgrown the building. The fire department has received $975,000 in federal funding, but is seeking around $3.2 million from state officials and $2.3 million from local leaders.

A new space would provide more space for training.

The Tampa City Council is expected to approve spending millions for a new fire station, new equipment and more resources to improve workload and response times, reports Tampa Bay 10.

If passed, $900,000 would be used for a modular building and renovations at Fire Station 11. The new Fire Station 25 would take calls in the same region to ease the burden on Station 13. It will get two rescue cars and additional staffing the cost of just over $2.5 million.

In addition, $160,000 in upgrades at Fire Station 21, a heavy-duty rescue vehicle at that same station costing just over $800,000, and another $880,000 set-aside to begin work on Fire Station 24, which will also service New Tampa.

Northampton (MA) Fire Department’s ladder truck has failed during several recent fires and officials are considering borrowing money to replace it according to a report published by the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

The city’s fire chief called the 2003 model year aerial a “severe safety hazard” and told city officials he doesn’t trust the truck to work when it’s needed the most, according to the newspaper. The report said the chief told the city councilors that the aerial recently was only able to be raised about six feet before it quit and had to have a mechanic come in to override the system to lower it back into its cradle.

The city’s current truck has a pump and a tank which allow it to work as an engine too, the newspaper reported, but the fire department does not want those features on the replacement aerial. Because the tank and pump were deleted in the specifications, the truck will cost about $1.09 million oppose to upwards of $1.6 million, the paper reported.

The council’s Finance Committee made a positive recommendation to the full nine-member council to buy the new aerial which could be up to 18 months before delivery, the paper reported.

The councilors will now figure out how to pay for the truck, and might borrow money through bonding to make the purchase, the paper reported.