The Mountain Brook City Council took another step forward in planning fire station construction, reports Village Living.

The council named the seven members of a planning sub-committee for the building. The first requirement for the sub-committee is interviewing potential architects and project managers. Once someone is hired, then the council members on the committee can help discuss what will be built into the new fire station.

The biggest challenge for the firefighters during demolition and construction will be finding a place to stay.

The Greenfield Fire Department is working to preserve the history of a 85-year-old fire station as its demolition draws closer, reports Greenfield Recorder.

Among the artifacts that will be salvaged from the fire station are the cupola and weather vane, a 1936 cornerstone, the copper downspouts and decorative leader, and the 9/11 memorial.

Meanwhile, construction of the temporary fire statio is on track for the department to move into by mid- to late August. The city expects to use the temporary station for about two years.

Not all of the details have been worked out in terms of how and where different artifacts will be incorporated into the new structure — or instead displayed for viewing.

A three-alarm brush fire continues to burn in Chelan County Wednesday morning. The Red Apple Fire forced evacuations Tuesday night, and state firefighting resources have been called to help contain the blaze. The fire started Tuesday evening and is burning grass and sage in the 3300 block of Red Apple Road between the towns of Cashmere and Wenatchee along US 2.
- PUB DATE: 7/14/2021 10:41:54 AM - SOURCE: KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

Last Thursday, 39-year-old Justin Andrew Wilke of Shelton was convicted of a variety of serious crimes stemming from his Mason County lumber heist in 2018. According to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office in the Seattle/Tacoma area, Wilke was convicted of conspiracy, theft of public property, depredation of public property, trafficking in unlawfully harvested timber, and attempting to traffic in unlawfully harvest timber.
- PUB DATE: 7/14/2021 10:27:26 AM - SOURCE: iFiberOne

Blind River (Ontario, Canada) Fire Department officials wanted—and was approved for—council to put up money to replace a pumper truck and set aside funds for fleet replacement, according to the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs.

The request comes after the town’s 32-year-old ladder truck broke down during an assistance call from the Elliot Fire Department in June.

The department is now down to one 19-year-old pumper and a 29-year-old tanker as its only available response vehicles. This leaves it unavailable to respond to assistance calls.

Fire officials are recommending the purchase of a MaxiMetal PIC pumper truck with a down payment of $405,000, some of which would be coming from the town’s Capital Fire Truck Reserve.

They’re also recommending the balance be funded from the Future Projects Reserve and that funds be repaid to the Future Projects Reserve over 10 years at 0% interest and that council authorizes pre-budget approval for 2022 for the replacement of the 19-year-old pumper truck at a price of $800,000, which could go to tender this year based on the turnaround time for emergency vehicles.

They also requested that council authorizes a five-year capital reserve allocation for fleet replacement of no less than $250,000 per year into the Fire Truck Reserve commencing in 2023 as part of the Asset Management Plan.

Under the plan, the used tanker would be sold once the new vehicle arrives with money received from resale to go to the Fire Truck Reserves.

After a discussion, the recommendations were approved including the decision to set aside $250,000 each year for vehicle replacement.