Wiscnews

It can be hard finding a place to do your work when it involves breaking in doors and starting fires, but the Portage Fire Department now has some space and new tools to train firefighters. The department held an open house Saturday at the Portage Fire Department Training Facility off Highway 33 at Wauona Trail.

 

In the new smokehouse they will have the luxury of filing it up with smoke and swinging axes wherever they please. Also, as they get practiced with the building, Simonson explained, there are plans for installing temporary walls that will allow firefighters to go into the house not knowing its layout.

The basement door leads to a dark cramped space in another part of the disused tank, which is also accessible through an outside door, like a manhole cover, meant for training in confined space operations.

Before the development of the training facility, Portage and surrounding firefighters would need to go to Madison to have access to training grounds and equipment, with the new facility eliminating much of that recurring expense in time and travel costs.

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Buffalonews

The North Tonawanda Fire Department celebrated its new light rescue vehicle at an event Friday. The city paid half the cost of the $200,000 truck, with a state grant lined up by State Sen. Robert G. Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, providing the remainder of the money.

 

The new vehicle will carry the department's rescue equipment, including the Jaws of Life for opening wrecked vehicles, and a supply of spare oxygen bottles for firefighters.

"Due to the fact that this vehicle goes on every call, it will play a vital role in the department's operations. The old vehicle was eight years old with over 100,000 miles on it," Fire Chief Joseph Sikora said. "With cooperation from the senator's office and the city, we were able to make this happen."

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New Rochelle: Fire Station #2 Closed for Renovations

CLOSE NEW ROCHELLE - Fire Station #2 on Webster Avenue closed this month for renovations that are expected to take a year to complete, city officials said in a news release. "When finished, these repairs and upgrades will enable our personnel to deliver fire department services more quickly and efficiently," Fire Chief Louis DiMeglio said.

 

The station was built in 1923 and officials said the aging structure is in need of a major overhaul to house today's trucks.

During renovations, the station’s trucks will be split between the Drake Avenue and Harrison Street firehouses, officials said. The company’s response time to emergencies is expected to remain similar.

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walpole.wickedlocal.com

WALPOLE - The Walpole Fire Department cut the ribbon on its new home this past weekend.State and local officials - as well as Congressman Stephen Lynch - joined firefighters in a public ceremony Saturday morning, commemorating the new headquarters.Selectmen Chairman Eric Kraus noted that the new Stone Street building was the department's third facility on the same site; the first was built in 1902, while the second was constructed in 1954."This is twice as large as the former

 

Selectmen Chairman Eric Kraus noted that the new Stone Street building was the department’s third facility on the same site; the first was built in 1902, while the second was constructed in 1954.

“This is twice as large as the former station, and will house 40 firefighters and one administrator,” he said, adding that the facility would house equipment that would strengthen protection for Walpole residents. ”(The station) was built without an override, meaning not one additional tax dollar was spent.”

Walpole Fire Chief Timothy Bailey spoke about the process that made the new station a reality, saying the earliest efforts began years ago. The department, he said, took an aggressive approach to the project and - one year and one month after construction began - it was dedicating its new building.

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A former Whatcom County firefighter who died of cancer this week is being listed as a line-of-duty fatality under state law that classifies certain kinds of cancer as job-related. Firefighter John Swobody died Monday night after a years-long battle with lung cancer, said Chief William Pernett of North Whatcom Fire and Rescue.
- PUB DATE: 6/11/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bellingham Herald