If earmark requests from Maine’s congressional delegation are approved, Howland and Corinna (ME) would receive a total of $4 million to outfit their respective fire departments with new buildings, reports bangordailynews.com.

Officials are asking for $1.7 million in federal funding to upgrade a building in Corinna to become a working firehouse. They also asked for $2.3 million to cover the cost of a new building that would house municipal offices and fire and emergency services for Howland and the communities the town’s department covers.

Despite having a population of just 1,207, Howland—which is 30 miles north of Bangor—is responsible for fire protection in more than a half-dozen communities that covers a 250-square-mile area, officials say. They add that smaller towns are facing ever-growing costs for equipment and a lack of volunteer personnel, forcing them to turn to departments like Howland’s, which is staffed around the clock.

The Howland Fire Department provides fire services for Maxfield, Passadumkeag, Burlington, Seboeis Plantation, Mattamiscontis, Brownsville, and a few other unincorporated areas, officials say.

In Corinna, crews have long been responsible for protecting neighboring Exeter, which pays Corinna $25,000 a year for the coverage. Corinna also has mutual-aid agreements with towns including Newport, Dexter, and St. Albans, the report says.

Howland’s current station, built for a volunteer force, lacks space. Corinna’s current station has water issues and can’t fit all the equipment. 

Hillsborough County, FL, officials recently broke ground on a new fire rescue station located in central Brandon, according to a report published by the Osprey Observer.

The new Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Station 45 will be located in one of the fastest growing and busiest parts of the county, the paper reported.

The two-bay station will be the first state-of-the-art facility with a clean entryway to help reduce the risk of cancer among firefighters, the newspaper reported.

By late spring of 2022, the new station is expected to be open and ready to respond to some of the more than 100,000 calls Hillsborough County Fire Rescue responds to annually, according to the newspaper.

Firefighters with the Ontonagon (MI) Fire Department recently got a $227,995 grant to help replace a 30-year-old rescue truck, according to an article published by The Daily Mining Gazette.

The paper reported the grant was from Michigan’s Financial Distressed Cities Villages and Townships (FDCVT) Grant Program and will be used to replace an apparatus put in service in 1989.

The fire department has until September 2025 to spend the money, but village officials say the process should be complete by the end of the year, the newspaper reported.

A St. Louis (MO) Fire Department apparatus was involved in a crash Wednesday, reports kmov.com.

The crash occurred in north St. Louis around 8:45 a.m. near North Kingshway Boulevard and Natural Bridge. Police officials say a sedan was also involved in the crash.

Paramedics are at the scene, but injury information hasn’t yet been released.

City Councilors in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, have voted to purchase a $2 million aerial to give the fire department capabilities to cover just about any scenario in the city, according to a report published by The Courier Press.

The newspaper reported the new aerial has been designed with more than 1,300 lines of specifications and will last for 30 years. The report added that the specifications were so extensive because the fire department didn’t want to go with a standard apparatus hoping to make it last as long as possible.

The apparatus will be equipped with a 100-foot mid-mount aerial platform with a 2,000 gallons per minute pump and an overall length of not more than 45 feet, the newspaper reported. The specifications also require the platform to be able to set on the ground within 60 feet or less to accommodate tight quarters, according to the newspaper.

Even though the department had a lot of specific requirements, firefighters found a 2020 aerial in stock that only needed a few minor modifications to meet the department’s needs, the paper stated, adding the truck will be ready for delivery within 60 days of the approval of the bid.