Community members gathered at Dawson County Fire Station to participate in the ceremonial wet down and push-in ceremony for a new ladder truck, reports Dawson County News.

Following the ceremony, the new truck was open for the children and other attendees from the community to climb into, explore and take photos in, and firefighters gave a demonstration of how the ladder on the new truck works. 

Conversations about a ladder truck have been on-going for at least 15 years. An official termed the truck a “dream come true.” The new truck was funded through SPLOST VI.

The new ladder truck has the ability to fight larger fires, a better safety rating that should help to lower insurance rates and independence from surrounding counties that normally send their ladder trucks for harder-to-reach fires. 

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Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport’s fire station has experienced damage due to unknown movement underneath the fire station, reports swoknews.com.

The station opened in early 2020 and now has the interior door showing cracks near the upper corners and the door frame beginning to separate from the wall. Officials are expecting contractors will bear the cost of fixing the damage as the building is so new. The fire station was rebuilt under a $3.9 million construction project awarded to Rich Construction in April 2018.

Airport officials have been working with their engineering firm and a geotechnical firm to isolate the cause of the problem, to include taking core samples from under the building as part of the engineering analysis.

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According to a report from Gwinnett Daily Post, Gwinnett County, Georgia, officials are continuing with plans to construct a new Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services (GCFES) Fire Station 13 facility in Suwanee, adjacent to the existing Suwanee library branch, located on Main Street off Suwanee Dam Road.

Gwinnett County Support Services Director Angelia Parham said the exterior of the new station will be similar to Fire Station 15, which was built a few years ago across from Georgia Gwinnett College on Collins Hill Road. It will also be larger than the previous Fire Station 13 building, which has since been converted to become StillFire Brewing. The station will also have three drive-thru bays for fire vehicles.

The new station will be approximately 11,000 square feet in size and house a minimum of five firefighters and paramedics every day as well as one engine and an ambulance. It will also feature a gear and equipment room, an industrial grade kitchen, an administrative office area, and individual bunkroom cubicles that have separate locker and shower areas for male and female GCFES employees.

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Oshkosh Airport Products, LLC, an Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK) Company, announced today that the company has secured an extendable contract award with the New Zealand Ministry of Defence. Phase one of the contract will include the production of two Oshkosh^® Striker 4×4 ARFF vehicles, with aftermarket service provided by Australia/NewZealand-based Oshkosh Corporation subsidiary, JLG Industries, Inc.

Features of the New Zealand Ministry of Defence new Striker 4×4 ARFF vehicles include:

• Oshkosh Command Zone^Ô software with diagnostic support
• Deutz TCD2015 16.0L V8 520kW (697HP) engine
• Allison EVS-4800 Series Fully Automatic Transmission
• Waterous CRQB single stage centrifugal water pump
• Water capacity – 1,600 gallons (6,100 liters)
• Foam capacity – 225 gallons (840 liters)
• Dry chemical capacity – 550 Ibs (250 kg)
• Acceleration of 0-50 mph (0-80 km/h) in under 25 seconds
• Oshkosh TAK-4^Ò all-wheel independent suspension
• Eco EFP^Ô input-based foam testing system

The New Zealand Ministry of Defence is a civilian agency that provides advice to the government on defence matters, contributing to the nation’s safety and security. The Ministry is also responsible for the purchase of major military/defence equipment for New Zealand Defence Force. The new Striker 4×4 ARFF vehicles will replace the two oldest ARFF’s at the Royal New Zealand Air Force base Woodbourne in the South Island. Phase two of the project will see the remaining six ARFF’s at the Whenupai and Ohakea air bases replaced with Striker 4×4 ARFF’s commencing in 2023.

“We are honored to be selected by the New Zealand Ministry of Defence to fulfill a contract of such magnitude,” said Jack Bermingham, business unit director for Oshkosh Airport Products. “In partnership with our colleagues at JLG, we look forward to providing the Ministry and the New Zealand Defence Force with a customized fire apparatus that will support their critical safety, efficiency, and service needs for many years to come.”

To learn more about Oshkosh Airport Products and the Striker^® ARFF vehicle, visit www.oshkoshairport.com.

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According to a report from NNY360, the Watertown (NY) Fire Department’s (WFD’s) heavy rescue truck, a 2005 American LaFrance, that sold at auction in February for $25,900 has arrived at its home in Oriskany, New York.

New owner and high bidder Matthew Shannon of Village Motors assured the WFD that he has big plans for the truck, saying he has no intentions of reselling it. However, Shannon did not want to speak on his specific plans, but he did say he and his family have connections to fire departments in the Utica and Rome area.

Dale Morrow, the city’s purchasing manager, was told by Shannon that the truck would be “donated.”

Shannon said he was intrigued by the rescue truck’s history, especially regarding the remnants of a decal that can still be seen on the apparatus. He later discovered that the decal represented the dedication of the truck to WFD Chaplain Monsignor McCarthy, who died in 2018 at the age of 99.

Under the WFD, the rescue vehicle clocked 12,733 hours of usage and drove 84,977 miles on city streets. It went on about 2,600 calls per year from 2018-2020.

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