According to a report from KFOR, Caleb G. Drummond, 21, is in critical condition at St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after being involved in a head-on collision with another fire truck driven by his relative. High winds are being blamed for the accident.

Drummond is a family member of “Pioneer Woman” Ree Drummond, a popular blogger, photographer, and television personality who writes about food. Ladd Drummond, Ree’s husband, was driving the oncoming fire truck and refused treatment at the scene. The impact ejected Caleb approximately 70 feet from the vehicle.

Drummond was taken by ambulance to St. John Medical Center with head, internal torso, and arm and leg injuries.

The crash occurred at approximately 1:43 p.m. Wednesday on County Road N3660, less than one mile north of State Highway 11 and approximately eight miles west of Pawhuska in Osage County.

Caleb was driving the 2007 Himmat Fire Truck south on County Road N3660, while 52-year-old Ladd Drummond, who is Ree Drummond’s husband, was driving a 2008 Himmat Fire Truck north on the county road, a gravel road.

Apparent high winds on the gravel road made it difficult to see, causing the two drivers to crash head-on.

The cause of the collision is now listed as “Speed due to traffic conditions.”

The post OK Man in Critical Condition After Head-On Crash with Relative in Fire Vehicles appeared first on Fire Apparatus.

Chelan Fire and Rescue crews, with the help of Chelan Fire District 8 responded to a 12 foot by 12 foot metal shed that was fully engulfed around 12:30 Wednesday. The blaze also spread and burned about one and a half acres of brush on the north slope of the property which is located on South Lakeshore Road.
- PUB DATE: 3/11/2021 11:10:42 AM - SOURCE: KPQ-AM 560

A Bellingham convicted arsonist is back in jail after he allegedly lit a fire at a Walmart check stand and pepper sprayed two employees during a shoplifting incident Friday, March 5, then escaped from custody Tuesday during a medical evaluation at the hospital. A tweet by the Bellingham Police Department at 8:43 p.
- PUB DATE: 3/11/2021 9:13:49 AM - SOURCE: Bellingham Herald

According to a report from The Advocate-Messenger, the Perryville, Kentucky, City Council will now allow the Perryville Fire Department (PFD) to advertise for bids for a new fire truck, which would be one of the town’s largest expenses in the past 20 years.

PFD Chief Anthony Young said the department’s current (and only) truck is around 21 years old, which will cause issues when it’s out of service for repairs, as was the case last month. Young the city will put a public notice in the Advocate-Messenger advertising for bids for a new fire truck.

Another topic of the March 4 council meeting was the potential relocation of the PFD’s station. Perryville is considering expanding city hall, where the PFD is already conducting much of its training, to incorporate the fire station. At its current location about 10 feet from the river, the existing fire station is facing some structural issues. Young also said that the building is at least 70 years old and is “small and cramped.”

Young said the PFD is also concerned with the station’s location, which is close to the river, making it susceptible to floods.

Adding the fire station to city hall would allow the city to consolidate utility and phone bills and insurance payments, which would save the city money. In addition, the city also wouldn’t need to buy a second property since it already owns City Hall.

The post Perryville (KY) Fire Department Accepting New Truck Bids, Ponders Station Relocation appeared first on Fire Apparatus.

According to a report from Metter Advisor, the Metter (GA) City Council rejected a proposal from Candler County Monday in a unanimous vote on a proposed solution to their ongoing fire truck debate.

The new fire truck in Metter Fire-Rescue’s (MFR’s) fleet has been a sore spot since its purchase, which occurred when the city and county agreed on a new Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) where both parties would pay 50 percent of the MFR’s operational and capital budgets. The city has maintained that, although the truck was ordered before the SDS agreements were signed, the county should continue with the terms of the SDS agreement and pay for 50 percent of the new truck’s price. 

The county retorted that since they had no input in the capital expenditure and that the purchase occurred before the SDS agreement was signed, they should not be obligated to pay for the fire truck.

The county notified the city in June that the fire truck expense would not be included in the County’s Fiscal 2021 budget. The City responded four months later, in October, that the County was obligated to pay or could opt out of the SDS agreement.

In January, the City sent a letter to the County outlining proposed areas of negotiation to resolve the fire truck issue, including the following:

1) The City pays for the fire radios,

2) the City accepts ownership and liability of the industrial park pond,

3) the City grants a water bill reduction on irrigation at the recreation department, and

4) the County pays its share of the purchase cost of the fire truck.

The commissioners added that the proposal was non-negotiable and must be approved by the City by March 17. MFR Chief Jason Douglas said the department needs to purchase another truck, and is working on a schedule of replacing an engine every 10 years.

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