JFRD and City Officials Break Ground on Fire Station 63. Facility expected to open in Fall 2021.

Today, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, City Council Members Danny Becton and Randy White, and IAFF Local 122’s Randy Wyse joined JFRD Director/Fire Chief Keith Powers in the ground-breaking ceremony for Fire Station 63 on Gate Parkway.

Fire Station 63’s permanent facility is JFRD’s third new station project in as many years, continuing a trend of growth and strategic allocation of fire suppression and emergency medical services.

Squad 63 and Rescue 63 have been operating since the summer of 2019 at a nearby temporary facility off of Gate Parkway, which is in southeast Jacksonville. Station 63’s immediate response territory includes eastern Baymeadows, the Reedy Branch area and the St. Johns Town Center. Within that region are approximately 5,000 residences, 400 business parcels, 30-plus apartment complexes and several schools. Given the area’s projected growth, Station 63 is a timely addition to the community.

The next addition to our department has begun! E-town is growing fast and we are part of the plan…. #etown pic.twitter.com/YDMLTQFmyT

— THEJFRD (@THEJFRD) September 23, 2021

Three people – a patient and two EMS providers – were taken to the hospital after a car slammed into a Houston Fire Department ambulance Wednesday, according to a report.

The crash, which caused the ambulance to land on its side, happened on FM 1960 E. at Kings Parkway just before 9 a.m., ABC 13 reported. One witness told the station the ambulance was passing through the intersection with its sirens flashing when it was t-boned.

Both EMS providers worked to get the patient out of the back of the ambulance following the crash, Atascocita Chief Mike Mulligan said.

Two other people in separate vehicles were involved in the crash. One car was hit after the ambulance turned on its side and slid across the ground.

Angelina River (TX) Fire and Rescue may be operating out of a new facility as soon as next spring, reports kjas.com.

Funding for the new facility came via the passage of a sales and use tax, which voters approved in a 2020 election, the report says.

The department is currently using for its station an old, wood-frame building—with no running water—that used to serve as a boat repair shop. Also, its location boasts a lengthy response time to calls.

The new facility will be on Recreational Road 255, which aims to put them in the center of their service area, the report says.

Harvard (MA) voters will be asked a to take on debt to pay for a new tower truck for the fire department at town meeting in October, according to a report published by The Harvard Press.

A sizable federal given to Harvard means town will have to raise $900,000 of the total purchase price, the paper said.

The proposal must be approved by the town’s Capital Planning and Investment Committee before it goes to the voters this fall given the board approve to borrow the money for the truck and to pay it back as debt, the paper reported.

The Aberdeen (NC) Fire and Rescue Department recently took delivery of Engine 423, which will be put into service in the coming weeks, reports thepilot.com.

It will be housed at the department’s Station 2.

The Aberdeen Town Board approved financing of the engine through Lumbee River Electric Membership Corp. for $537,000 and more than $100,000 worth of equipment, the report says.