The Bradner Fire Department is renewing a push for a new fire station that will replace the current 55-year-old fire station, reports ABC 13 Action News.

The fire chief said the building has not had any major updates or renovations and is putting safety at risk. The building also only has one bathroom and is not ADA compliant.

The station is used to house rescue equipment for the volunteer department but in the past was also used to host community gatherings, weddings, and at one point, voting.

The fire department has a plot of land and designs, but has funding issues for the fire station which is estimated to cost $1.6 million. So far, the fire department has raised raised nearly $100,000.

The new space would have four bays and give firefighters more space to quickly exit the building. The current station also lacks a ventilation system that removes the exhaust. Right now, when the trucks are running, the diesel exhaust builds up on the walls and in the firefighter turnout gear.

Two Lexington fire stations are partially using solar power, reports WKYT.

The solar panels, costing about $30,000, were installed at Fire Station No. 7 and at Fire Station No. 15 as part of a larger city-wide renewable energy initiative.

Officials expect the projects to pay for themselves in cost savings by year 10 or 11.

A man has been charged for three incidents of vandalism, two which impacted fire stations, reports NBC 12.

Officials said a car hit the garage doors of Henrico Fire Station #5 and then he moved on to knock out windows of the Lakeside Volunteer Rescue Squad’s building.

The suspect is charged with three counts of felony vandalism, one for each location.

Holden (LA) – Ferrara Fire Apparatus Inc., a subsidiary of REV Group^® and a leading manufacturer of fire apparatus, is pleased to announce that the Shreveport (LA) Fire Department has selected Ferrara to provide the city with three (3) Cinder™ Rescue Pumpers.

Key features of the Cinder™ Custom Rescue Pumpers include the following:

• 96” wide extruded aluminum cab with reinforced roll cage construction.
• 4,100 square inch windshield with 43.1° viewing area for maximum visibility.
• Cummins L9 450-hp engine with 3000 EVS™ transmission.
• Hendrickson STEERTEK™ front suspension.
• Heavy duty 3/16” extruded aluminum body.
• Customized crosslay/speedlay configuration with EMS compartments.
• Darley® PSP 1,500-gpm PTO pump.
• 500 gallon water tank.

Safety features for these pumpers include the new Active Air Purification Systems, wash-out floors, washable seat covers, and external storage for SCBA tanks.

Shreveport’s apparatus committee considered the following factors in its quest to replace three older pumpers: safety for its crew, standardization of its fleet, great compartmentation, delivery time and cost. Ferrara was ultimately selected.

“We were looking for a company that could provide fire apparatus to meet our needs, the citizens’ needs and allow us to be good stewards of our taxpayer dollars,” said Charles “Skip” Pinkston, Chief of Special Operations and Safety for Shreveport. “We wanted a vehicle that would give us the longevity that we look for in a fire apparatus. We found this with Ferrara and are looking forward to getting the three pumpers built and put into service in our community.” 

Shreveport is a longstanding customer, having purchased more than twenty (20) Ferrara fire apparatus since its first – a rescue vehicle – in 1999.

“Ferrara and the Shreveport Fire Department have partnered on fire apparatus for many years,” said Bert McCutcheon, Vice President and General Manger for Ferrara. “These pumpers will be customized to meet the specific needs of their department and community.  We appreciate the continued trust and confidence Shreveport has put in Ferrara with this latest purchase.”

About Ferrara Fire Apparatus, Inc.

Ferrara, part of REV Group (NYSE: REVG), builds custom heavy-duty fire apparatus for municipal and industrial fire departments. Located in Holden, Louisiana, Ferrara is focused on protecting firefighting personnel with a custom chassis line and extruded aluminum body that exceeds NFPA and industry safety requirements. For over 30 years, Ferrara has lead performance standards by delivering custom engineered fire trucks that provide maximum response capabilities.

About REV Group, Inc.

REV Group® is a leading designer and manufacturer of specialty vehicles and related aftermarket parts and services. We serve a diversified customer base, primarily in the United States, through three segments: Fire & Emergency, Commercial, and Recreation. We provide customized vehicle solutions for applications, including essential needs for public services (ambulances, fire apparatus, school buses, and transit buses), commercial infrastructure (terminal trucks and industrial sweepers) and consumer leisure (recreational vehicles). Our diverse portfolio is made up of well-established principal vehicle brands, including many of the most recognizable names within their industry. Several of our brands pioneered their specialty vehicle product categories and date back more than 50 years. REV Group trades on the NYSE under the symbol REVG. Investors-REVG

Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) company, announced today it has added RollTek’s Side Roll Protection System as an option in Freightliner commercial chassis. The integration of the RollTek system in the Freightliner commercial chassis is exclusively available in Pierce fire apparatus. The safety feature was first incorporated into specifications for a recent order placed by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management consisting of 14 Type 3 Interface wildland fire trucks and 25 Type 3 and 4 wildland fire engines.

“We have seen an increase in commercial products in various types of fire apparatus fleets, driven by cost, lead time, and chassis preference,” said Jim Johnson, president of Pierce Manufacturing. “Fire apparatus operators must navigate everything from demanding terrain to narrow rural roads, and rollovers are a significant threat, particularly in tanker products. Becoming the only provider of the RollTek system in Freightliner commercial chassis for fire apparatus is one more step in Pierce’s ongoing mission to help protect firefighters by continuing to enhance and improve fire truck safety systems.”

Extreme environmental factors and weather conditions have contributed to the recent uptick in fire activity, increasing truck rollover incidents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the United States Fire Administration (USFA), fire truck accidents are the second leading cause of death for firefighters on the job, and rollovers account for more than 66% of fire truck accidents each year. RollTek side roll protection systems help protect fire truck occupants by allowing for side roll air curtains to be fully integrated into the seating system rather than deploying from the wall in a crash or rollover event.

Elden Alexander is the national fire equipment program manager with the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. He and his team have seen what was previously a summer “fire season” turn into a “fire year” with active fires in all regions of the United States. These circumstances have increased the need for highly mobile firefighting forces throughout the country. As a Federal centralized fire equipment program, the advancement in RollTek safety technology will benefit not only the Department of Interior fire programs but well beyond.

“While firefighter safety is at the forefront of everything we do, it is inherently a dangerous job,” said Alexander. “On a single fire dispatch, we can respond 100 miles on the highway, traverse steep mountain roads, and then transition to using equipment off-road while suppressing fire. The addition of the RollTek side roll protection system is a remarkable advancement in firefighter safety and assures us that we are helping to ensure every firefighter returns home safely.”

Pierce’s decision to offer the RollTek side roll protection system as an option exclusively offered in its Freightliner commercial chassis was initiated by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, when purchase coordinators incorporated the feature into the specifications for recent orders. Pierce worked with IMMI and the Center for Advanced Product Evaluation to develop a program to test and certify the RollTek system and the cab structural integrity of the Freightliner cab. This application was the first in the commercial market for multiple cab configurations.

“Vehicle safety technology has advanced to a point where it became possible to push side roll protection features from light trucks and custom cab fire vehicles into the commercial-chassis market, which has resulted in the development of a reliable, comfortable, and affordable solution for the whole vehicle,” said RJ Johnson the national fire engine production manager with the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land