The Pewamo Fire Department received a new brush truck in July after applying for and receiving a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant, according to Chief Michael Yerge. Lyons Township only had to pay under $10,000 for the truck, which has a sticker price of around $140,000, he said.

“It has the potential to service our community for many years to come, and in a variety of applications,” Yerge said.

In 2016, the Pewamo Fire Department applied for the grant to replace an aging brush fire truck that had been on loan from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Yerge said.

Back on October 22, firefighters working out of the central station were moved to Fire Station No. 2 on Sparta Road.  

The Farmer Environmental Group was hired to conduct environmental testing in the building because of excessive humidity and moisture in the building that was discovered during an assessment of the operation of the heating and air conditioning system. 

The areas affected included the firefighters sleeping quarters

According to Fire Chief John Alcaidinho, the sprinklers in the administrative area were installed and connected to two water tanks, but the ones in the section that houses the vehicles can only be used if the system is hooked up to a fire truck to pump water.  

Alcaidinho said the original thought was to hold off on connecting the sprinkler to the cistern because Unitil is expected to upgrade to three-phase electrical lines on Merrimac Road at some point in the future and the improvement would determine the type of pump system needed.

The St. Clair Fire Department just got a new custom Rosenbauer pumper truck, which includes that throwback to the history of firefighting on its driver's side bumper.   

The St. Clair Area Fire Authority began the design process for the truck about two years ago and it cost about $578,000, to be paid for out of the agency's equipment budget and through financing.   

The truck holds about 1,000 gallons of water and carries about 1,700 feet of hoses. It carries six firefighters at a time.