According to a report from Edwards Air Force Base, 812th Civil Engineer Squadron Fire & Emergency Services (FES) Flight received its latest to its firefighting fleet: a 2020 Oshkosh Striker UHP P-19 with 4×4 capability.

The department’s latest aircraft rescue fire fighting (ARFF) vehicle was officially welcomed to the fleet on January 14 during a “push in” ceremony on Edwards Air Force Base in California.

The new vehicle, built at a cost of $612,000, replaces the 1986 Oshkosh P-19, which had reached the end of its service life. The new vehicle will provide greater agent capacity and reach to better help extinguish fires in large-frame aircraft. The ARFF is also safer for the firefighters during responses because of its new and improved chassis design.

The push in ceremony is tradition that dates back to more than 100 years ago, when fire equipment was horse drawn and pushed back into the station by firefighters after the responses.

The vehicle’s weight and dimensions are: 35.5 feet long, 11.6 feet high, 10 feet wide, and a gross vehicular weight of 62,000 pounds. It can carry 1,500 gallons of water, 210 gallons of class B foam, and 500 pounds of dry chemical retardant.  

The vehicle is equipped with an UHP system of 1,400 pounds per square inch, a flow rate of 300 gallons per minute (gpm) on the bumper turret, and 21 gpm on the handline. The bumper turret can also discharge dry chemicals at 12 to 17 pounds per second along with a handline at five pounds per second. The bumper turret also comes equipped with a forward looking infrared camera.

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Firefighters quickly extinguished a blaze Monday morning at a hotel in Salmon Creek. Clark County Fire District 6 crews were initially dispatched to a medical call at 10:47 a.m. at Red Lion & Suites Vancouver, 13206 N.E. Highway 99. Responders were handling the medical call when a woman, possibly an employee, ran up and alerted them to a fire on the second floor, Fire District 6 spokesman Dave Schmitke said.
- PUB DATE: 1/25/2021 1:28:50 PM - SOURCE: Vancouver Columbian - Metered Site

According to a report from The Monroe News, the Monroe (MI) Volunteer Fire Department (MVFD) will be receiving a new addition to its truck fleet after the Monroe Charter Township officials gave the town’s highest ranking safety official, MVFD Chief Mark Cherney, permission to purchase a new Pierce Manufacturing Inc. Velocity Chassis firefighting engine for the department.

Cherney asked for the funding Tuesday night during the board’s monthly meeting (held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic).

The township board unanimously approved the request to release money needed for the first payment installment, which is about $467,000. The 100-foot mid-mount engine will cost more than $1.4 million.

Cherney said the new truck will replace two engines currently in use by the department. One truck, which features a 50-foot nozzle, will become the new backup truck. The other, purchased in 1988, will be sold off.

The Chassis model, known for its safety features, will boast a five-section ladder. He and a committee from the MVFD selected the Pierce product after reviewing several possibilities and manufacturers.

Cherney said the funds were needed swiftly to help the township save money. By working out a payment schedule with Pierce, making a payment now and then following that schedule, will decrease the overall cost by more than $70,000.

The Chassis model is very popular within the firefighting industry. Funds generated from the fire millage passed in November will be used to make the purchase. Before putting the issue to voters, Cherney said the millage would be used to replace the MVFD’s current aerial truck.

The truck, which is the one the township plans to retire, has racked up high maintenance costs, which have often been discussed at township meetings.

The Chassis model will likely incur far less expense, according to Cherney.

It will take approximately six or seven months for Pierce to build the engine. Cherney also said that the truck will be designed to specifications outlined by himself and the MVFD.

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According to a report from WLBT, the McComb (MS) Fire Department (MFD) recently lost one of its spare fire trucks after it broke down. MFD Chief Gary McKenzie now says the loss has put the city close to a “crisis level” if one more truck malfunctions.

McComb leaders are now trying to find the money needed to fill that void for the city. However, this need has become more common all over the state. Many Mississippi fire departments just don’t have the funds to buy new trucks.

Copiah County Emergency Operations Center Director Randle Drane said that this issue is affecting all of his county’s departments, even with the state’s Rural Fire Truck Acquisition Assistance funds. although the national Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) offers a lot more money to departments that need it, the municipality or county must match 5 percent of the cost if they’re able to acquire the grant.

Even with the matching of funds, small fire departments and counties often don’t have the thousands of dollars it still takes to get a truck, which could run anywhere from $300,000 up to a $1 million, depending on the type of apparatus needed.

When grant writer, attorney and firefighter Jared Evans joined up in 2001, his department had two trucks that dated back to the 1950s. He says that some of those trucks are still in use around the state today, some dating as far back as the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

Evans, who specializes in writing AFGs, said many departments that could get the grant are convinced they won’t, and he encourages them to try anyway.

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According to a report from KHOU, a suspected intoxicated driver was arrested after trying to strike a Harris County (TX) deputy with his vehicle, crashing into a fire truck, and leading several other deputies on a brief chase through the eastern part of the county.

Harris County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Paul Bruce said the deputy who was working at a car crash site in the 16600 block of Wallisville Road was directing traffic away from the crash. The deputy then tried to stop a vehicle. 

The deputy was not injured.

Bruce said the driver then attempted to hit the deputy before crashing into an on-scene fire truck. The driver then reversed his vehicle and crashed into the fire truck a second time. The driver then drove away, and a chase began. 

The chase lasted several minutes before the driver crashed out at a dead-end road in the 21000 block of Rio Villa Drive. The driver exited the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot, but he was quickly apprehended and arrested.

Bruce said the driver appeared to be intoxicated and will likely be charged with assault on a peace officer; evading arrest; and, possibly, DWI.

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