A 15-year-old boy is fighting for his life after a fire broke out in a South Seattle home early Friday morning. Someone inside the burning home called 911 just before 4 a.m. to report flames were coming from their home in the 9300 block of 39th Ave. South, according to David Cuerpo with Seattle Fire.
- PUB DATE: 1/22/2021 1:32:38 PM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000

According to a report from The Coppell Gazette, the Coppell (TX) Fire Department (CFD) announced the opening of its fourth fully operational station on Tuesday, January 19. It will provide 24 hours-a-day service.

Located at 440 Northpoint Drive, Fire Station No. 4 will serve residents, businesses, and the recent increase of commercial properties on Coppell’s west side and will allow the CFD to continue to meet safe and efficient service levels; reduce emergency response times; and maintain the city’s ISO-1 rating, which determines homeowner and business insurance premiums.

CFD Chief Kevin Richardson said that the new station has been a project several years in the making. He attributed the new station to allowing the CFD to save lives and decrease property damage, exceeding industry and community service standards.

Fire Station No. 4 features three apparatus bays; all-day living and working accommodations for on-duty firefighters; and a 5,000-square-foot attached centralized resource management facility, which will primarily be used for apparatus, supplies, tools, and equipment storage.

There is a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony expected sometime in February.

The post Coppell (TX) Fire Department Opens New Station appeared first on Fire Apparatus.

According to a report from Columbia Basin Herald, Grant County (WA) Fire District 5 (GCFD5) officials in Moses Lake, Washington, have discovered an innovative way to reduce costs while still obtaining the apparatus they need and want.

GCFD5 Chief Dan Smith said that their latest apparatus, if purchased new, can run around $200,000. However, he noted that GCFD5 personnel could build it for “way less” than half that cost while still building it to the department’s application.

District officials do-it-yourself approach paid off when they purchased a truck chassis and customized it from the axles on up. Smith said it’s a way to maximize the district’s resources.

Smith admitted that, as a rural fire district, the department didn’t have the money to buy all new trucks. And, the GCFD5 covers a broad area of more than 500 square miles across 12 stations, so there was no chance they could afford to house brand-new trucks at all 12 stations all the time. We can still provide quality equipment, and lots of it, for a lot less money.”

District officials recently purchased five used chassis to turn into fire apparatus suited for service in a district with many roadless areas. According to Smith, the five chassis cost a total of about $200,000 (although he didn’t give an exact amount).

The chassis originally came out of the factory as logging trucks sometime in the early 2000s. The GCFD5 then takes equipment from existing trucks and refurbishes and fits it to the new truck. However, it’s a long way from a logging truck chassis to becoming what Smith called a “tactical tender.”

On Thursday, two of the trucks that were still being built were parked in the district’s maintenance shed on Thursday, one about two-thirds completed, the second in the early stages.

Building trucks sounds like an intricate process, and it is. Once the truck returns, it’s fitted with a refurbished water tank, then the tank is repainted. Although it’s an involved process, Smith said the result is both more cost-effective and customized.

The post Grant County (WA) Fire District 5 Expands its Apparatus Fleet with DIY Initiative appeared first on Fire Apparatus.

Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue has hired two, new full-time firefighters. It will help staff the district’s west-end response. Firefighter/paramedic Erik Sundin and Firefighter/EMT Elizabeth Hagaman started work on Tuesday. Their positions are being funded by a levy lid lift approved by voters last summer. Chief Jake Patterson says one of the goals with the increased funding was to improve response and staffing for the west end of the district.
- PUB DATE: 1/22/2021 8:10:13 AM - SOURCE: KONP-AM 1490

A woman and a 2-year-old child were rescued by firefighters Wednesday night, Jan.20 after a garage fire spread throughout an Auburn home. Around 11:40 p.m. near the 30100 block of 50th Lane S., crews from South King Fire and Rescue were dispatched to a possible fire at a townhome, said Capt. Brad Chaney of South King Fire and Rescue.
- PUB DATE: 1/22/2021 7:28:03 AM - SOURCE: Kent Reporter