According to a report from Reading Eagle, retired Reading, Pennsylvania, firefighter Bill Stoudt Sr. spotted a grey pickup truck turning onto South Fifth and Laurel Streets, pulling a trailer carrying a familiar friend—a 1931 Buffalo 1,000-gallon-per-minute pumper engine Stoudt Jr. drove as a newly hired firefighter in 1963 until it was replaced by the city in 1966.

The owner of the engine, Peter West of Virginia, recently sold it to the Reading Area Firefighters Museum.

Stoudt walked around the vintage truck, admiring the piece he spent three years of his career. He then climbed aboard after it was started up, instructing West where to drive it next. West then pulled the engine in front of the Liberty Fire Station and prepared to back it into its original bay. Stoudt continued to instruct West on the do’s and don’ts of driving the Buffalo.

The museum discovered that the engine would be put up for sale and knew immediately it had to get it. The museum will not divulge who paid for it and what it cost. However, museum Bill Rehr said that an anonymous donor bought the truck and donated it to the museum, noting that the donor said he “wanted it to come home.”

The city of Reading bought the engine for the Liberty Fire Company (LFC) in 1931. It was retired in 1966 and later served at the Reading Regional Airport. It then went into service in Robesonia. A private citizen bought it, and it was eventually sold to West, a fire engine collector. West then conducted an off-the-frame restoration, making the fire engine look as if it just rolled off the factory floor.

Rehr started working for the LFC in 1959 and said he remembers seeing the Buffalo engine at fires. He said the museum will keep the Buffalo as West delivered it.

The engine will be on display at the Reading Area Firefighters Museum, located at 501 S. Fifth Street. 

Humble Fire Rescue recently welcomed a 2021 Pierce Velocity Aerial fire truck to the fleet, reports The Tribune.

The new, 107-foot ladder truck is equipped with a 2000-GPM pump and replaces a 20-year-old truck. Since being placed in service, the truck has responded to 15 motor vehicle collisions, five fires, 11 other miscellaneous non-EMS calls for service and 20 EMS responses as either the first responder or to assist an ambulance crew with manpower.

Individuals volunteered their own time to fly to Wisconsin to ensure that members of Ladder 1 worked with the sales representatives and engineers to make certain the truck fit with city specifications.

The city of Friendswood is awaiting a final cost estimate for a new fire station while half the design work is completed, reports the Houston Chronicle.

The $5 million project for the fire station will include a new training facility and will be funded through a $9.1 million proposition.

The fire chief said a new fire station and training facility would better protect against potential storm damage and would boost the department’s training capabilities.

The fire station was rehabilitated in 2004 when it sustained storm damage.

The Somersworth City Council is facing decisions around the soaring cost to build the new fire station, reports Foster’s Daily Democrat.

The planned station is to replace the 8,100-square-foot fire station, built in 1976. The city originally authorized a $7.7 million bond to finance the fire station, but now city officials say the cost has since gone up to $9 million.

The Fire Station Building Committee looked to make almost $500,000 in cuts to reduce the cost of the design by removing the training tower and using more cost-effective materials, lowering the cost of the project to $6,490,977.

The city hopes to address the $1.3 million difference with a combination of federal grants and city funds rather than adding the full amount to the amount of money it had planned to bond.

According to a report from TimesNews, the town of Montverde, Florida, has donated a 2000 Pierce Contender 1,250-gallons-per-minute engine to the Hawkins County (TN) Volunteer Fireman’s Association (HCVFA), which then placed it with the Goshen Valley Volunteer Fire Department (GVVFD) in Church Hill, Tennessee.

The HCVFA, an all-volunteer organization, serves Hawkins County’s eight volunteer fire departments.

HCVFA Secretary/Treasurer Don Hiett, a former fire chief in Atlanta (GA) now retired in Hawkins County, initiated contact with Montverde and facilitated the donation.

The GVVFD paid for the cost of delivery and used the donation to replace a 45-year-old fire truck in its fleet.

The donated truck arrived with some tools, appliances, supply hose, and air packs (minus the air bottles). The truck is now being serviced and tested.

A “push-in” ceremony is scheduled for September at GVVFD’s Station No. 1, located on 1087 Goshen Valley Road, near Church Hill.

The GVVFD has been serving the community since 1992. It runs two engines and two tankers from two fire stations.

Citizens interested in promoting fire safety and public service are invited to join the HCVFA, which meets the second Wednesday every other month.