The Walla Walla Fire District 5 levy renewal is on the ballot for the February 10 election. This levy has backed emergency services in the community for over 30 years. Since 1990, the levy has been renewed every six years to help maintain critical emergency services throughout Walla Walla County. Fire Chief Mike Wickstrom emphasizes that this renewal is not a new tax but a continuation of funding the community has long supported.

“I think the big piece of it is, you know, each time we look at our ballot, we’re like, another tax, another tax. This is not; this is just a renewal. It’s something that’s really proven to be really sound and spent well throughout the County,” Chief Wickstrom said. This levy is fundamental to the county’s emergency medical services (EMS) system, which residents rely on heavily. Without it, fire officials say the county would face difficult decisions about how EMS is provided.

Apple Valley News Now

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VIDEO/PHOTOS: Wenwood Bay Winery and Restaurant was destroyed when its building caught fire early Sunday morning in Gasconade County.

The Owensville Fire Protection District reported that firefighters arrived around 1:40 a.m. Sunday to find the two-story, 15,000-square-foot building at 2441 State Highway K in the Bay area fully engulfed in flames.

“We could see the fire when we were leaving the city limits of Owensville,” Owensville Fire Chief Jeff Arnold said.

Harsh weather conditions and the distance to the nearest reliable fire hydrant prompted authorities to upgrade the fire to a fourth alarm.

Fire crews from multiple agencies used portable tanks and hand lines to combat the blaze from both the front and back of the building.

“We had roughly 17 different agencies respond, with the temperature and our closest reliable hydrant was all the way back here in Owensville, so it was a great distance to get back to the hydrant to be able to refill. So we were going through quite a bit of water at first, so we needed to have the extra tanker trucks there for water supply,” Arnold said.

KSDK-TV NBC 5 St. Louis

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Anderson (IN) added a fourth ambulance in September, improving firefighter workload balance and lowering response times.

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Lynwood Wilkerson, 65, died in a collision with an NYU Langone Hospital ambulance in Brooklyn. The ambulance crew was responding to a call and was not cited, police said.

The post E-Bike Rider, 65, Dies in Crash With Ambulance in Brooklyn (NY) appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

While the crew was wrapping up the accident and getting the last patient ready for transport, a third vehicle crashed into the back of the engine, causing significant damage.

The post IN Pumper Struck from Behind at Accident Scene appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.