More than 700 miles separate Arnold (TN) Air Force Base and the town of Strawberry Point (IA).

On any given weekday, the workforce at Arnold AFB exceeds the population of the small Midwestern municipality. Arnold, the headquarters of Arnold Engineering Development Complex, is home to dozens of wind tunnels, tests cells, chambers, and ranges that have contributed to the development of numerous aircraft, engines, missiles, satellites, and space systems. The Iowa town is home to “the world’s largest strawberry” – a 15-foot-tall fiberglass statue located in front of Strawberry Point City Hall.

Still, distance and differences didn’t prevent emergency responders at Arnold and in Strawberry Point from connecting over the summer, their association stemming from their common goal of protecting lives and property.

When all was said and done, members of the Strawberry Point Firefighters Association left middle TN with valuable equipment, once used by emergency crews at Arnold, to bolster the lifesaving efforts of their hometown fire department.

The fire truck acquired by the Strawberry Point firefighters and repurposed for use by Strawberry Point Fire and Rescue was past its useful life for Arnold AFB Fire and Emergency Services, or FES. Typically, when this type of government equipment reaches that point, the assets are dispositioned through the Defense Logistics Agency.

Due to issues related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the DLA had amassed a backlog in dispositioning such assets, meaning it would take longer than normal for Arnold to offload the truck.

However, personnel at Arnold found an alternate means for disposition. It could be accomplished instead through the General Services Administration. The GSA creates an availability list of excess assets, allowing organizations outside of the federal government to apply for the assets.

Strawberry Point Fire and Rescue requested the truck through the GSA. The request was granted, and in May, Gregg Howard, property administrator with AEDC contracting, signed the paperwork that transferred the truck to Strawberry Point. To save AEDC money on shipping costs, the truck remained at Arnold until firefighters from Strawberry Point could make the trip down to retrieve it.

Arnold FES Chief Daryle Lopes said his department is “thrilled” that the truck was transferred to a department that needed to expand its fleet to better protect those around its base of operations.

“It’s a great thing for us to know the truck will be getting a good home and will serve a good community,” he said.

Lopes added that the truck has been well-cared for and will serve Strawberry Point Fire and Rescue well during its extended service life.

“That’s going to be a valuable asset to them,” he said.

Nick Zitelman with Strawberry Point Fire and Rescue expressed his appreciation in an email to Linda “Gail” Holder, disposition specialist for the AEDC Facility Support Services contractor.

“Getting a truck like this for our Fire Department is a huge asset to our rural community,” Zitelman wrote.

Strawberry Point Fire and Rescue, which is made up of a little more than two dozen volunteers, responds to calls within a nearly-80-square-mile community, including the town Strawberry Point, and parts of a nearby 2,000-acre state park.

The department is also called upon to assist nearby communities for vehicle collision rescues due to it carrying the extrication device commonly known as the “Jaws of Life.” With the

City council gave the greenlight for the Corpus Christi (TX) Fire Department to contract BRW Architects for more than $620,000 for the design of Station 3, reports kiiitv.com.

Voters in 2020 passed a bond for Station 3 on Morgan Street to be replaced by a new facility to be built a few blocks away, the report says.

The current Station 3, built in 1954, has been deemed too small and inadequate. Officials say building the new station will cost $7 million, which is expected to come from federal grants. BRW Architects was given design, bid, and construction contracts.

The new station is expected to be operational in January 2024, according to the report.

See highlights of the council meeting below:

The Newtown (PA) Fire Association recently housed Rescue 45, its $716,000 new rescue pumper, and dedicated it to one of its longtime members.

The apparatus was dedicated to firefighter Dave Pannepacker, who has volunteered with the company for more than 60 years and was given the honor of sitting in the passenger seat as the new engine was pushed into the station.

He applied to the fire association on Aug. 6, 1956 but wasn’t voted in until Sept. 30, 1957, as there was a waiting list to join, according to thereporteronline.com.

A bronze plaque on the side of the apparatus acknowledges Pannepacker and his years of dedication.

The department hadn’t purchased a new apparatus in 11 years, and, when put into service over the summer, it replaced a 20-year-old rescue pumper that was recently sold to the Mayfield Hose Company in upstate PA. Most of its onboard powered equipment runs off batteries, the report says.

The purchase was made possible in large part from proceeds from Newtown Beerfest, which takes place in September at the Stocking Works.

The Rensselaer (IN) Volunteer Fire Department is hosting a push-in ceremony for its $1.47 million ladder truck on Saturday, November 20 from 2 to 4 p.m., reports newsbug.info.

The apparatus is an ArrowXT 100-foot ascendant tower truck with blacked-out features, according to the report. It will feature red and black colors on the cab door to represent Rensselaer Central High School’s colors.

The mid-mount platform, the report says, has a low height—10’10”—so that it can fit underneath bridges; its length is 42’4”. It boasts a 2,000-gpm pump and a 300-gallon tank.

Firefighters must attend a three-day training class to learn the ropes.

The department sold its 2003 ladder truck to the Brook/Iroquois Township Fire Department over the summer, the report says.

Branch Township (MI) officials hosted a public hearing Monday ahead of the building of a new facility that will house both township officials and the fire department, reports shorelinemedia.com.

The Branch Township Fire Department, located at 6697 U.S. 10, is in a building in dire need of space, officials say; the department’s water tankers need to be filled to weigh them down enough to fit through the doors.

Officials say, in anticipation of building a new facility, the township has set aside $100,000 since 2013. They add that the township received from a resident about 10 acres of property across U.S. 10 from Wanna Buy Sheds, which has been partly cleared of trees.

The plan is to build an 80-by-100-foot building on the site with township offices and fire department offices on one side of the building and fire apparatus on the other half. A mezzanine would be above the offices for training, the report says.

To fund the project the township is considering a 15-year millage at 1 mill; the township has an estimate of $800,000 for the building itself. Officials took that estimate to a bank for financing options, and they left with the 15-year term with an anticipated preliminary interest rate of between 1 3/4 and 2 1/4%, according to the report.

Officials say there may be a second public hearing on the project in the spring, well before a potential vote in August 2022.