The city of Garland, Texas, has a population of 250,000 residents, and its fire department operates out of 11 stations staffed by 285 firefighters/paramedics/EMTs running seven engines, four aerial ladder quints, and 11 ambulances to cover the city’s 57 square miles.

“Our old Station 6 was built in 1980 in a different location and was only 5,800 square feet,” says Assistant Chief Eric Lovett. “Because fire apparatus have gotten bigger, longer, and wider over the years, and the old station had almost no provisions for preventing contaminants from getting in the structure, we had to build a new Station 6.”

Lovett says the restricted lot size where the old station sat wouldn’t accommodate a much larger station, so the department studied where land was available to provide the best response and purchased property for the new Station 6. “While we do gross decon of firefighter turnouts on a fire scene, we wanted the new station to be capable of handling decon of firefighters, their gear, and equipment when they return to the station,” he points out. “We also wanted a larger and more efficient vehicle exhaust system for the new apparatus bays.”

Chris Sano, principal and design director for BRW Architects, says his team had some challenges with the siting of the new station, as it sits facing a single direction access road off of the President George Bush Highway and is surrounded by light commercial structures. “We had to keep the site design simple and make it intuitive for site visitors so they wouldn’t drive onto the apparatus apron,” Sano observes.

Sano says the resulting 12,800-square-foot station has three drive-through apparatus bays with quick-opening bifold doors on the front and overhead doors at the rear. “The apparatus ba

The Shepherdsville (KY) Fire Department made the following Facebook post June 16, 2025:

On Monday, June 16, 2025, at approximately 3:33 p.m., the Shepherdsville Fire Department Engine 92 was involved in a motor vehicle collision at the intersection of Adam Shepherd Parkway and Buckman Street.

The incident involved one passenger vehicle and Engine 92. At the time of the collision, Engine 92 was not responding to an emergency incident. Firefighters immediately extricated the driver of the passenger vehicle and rendered medical aid. The driver was transported to the hospital by Bullitt County EMS. Firefighters from Engine 92 were evaluated on scene by EMS personnel and did not require further treatment.

The collision is currently under investigation by the Shepherdsville Police Department.

The Shepherdsville Fire Department remains committed to the safety of our firefighters and the community we serve. Our thoughts are with the injured individual and their family at this time. The Shepherdsville Fire Department is also conducting an internal review in accordance with departmental policies and procedures.

The post One Hospitalized After Shepherdsville (KY) FD Apparatus and Passenger Vehicle Collide appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

Purchasing a new fire apparatus is a complex journey that demands precision, foresight, and thorough negotiation. In the latest episode of The Apparatus Workshop—hosted by Nick Wilbur and Winslow, with returning expert Tom Shand—the trio delves deep into two critical topics impacting fire apparatus procurement today: the boilerplate specification and the evolving landscape of open competitive bidding. Their conversation uncovers nuanced challenges departments face in specifying rigs, negotiating contracts, and managing expectations throughout the purchase cycle. For fire service professionals and fleet managers, the episode serves as an essential guide for navigating apparatus purchasing in a market defined by supply chain volatility and shifting manufacturer dynamics.

The post The Apparatus Workshop: Boilerplate and the Competitive Bid appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

When an electric vehicle fire involves its batteries, and those batteries enter thermal runaway, a number of reactions are occurring that contribute to these fires being very difficult to extinguish.

As we know, the lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles are not the only lithium-ion battery fires we will encounter. A variety of methods have been proposed and attempted to extinguish these fires during the past several years. The team at Full Circle Lithium has developed a product that rapidly absorbs the heat and mitigates the chemical reaction that is the thermal runaway issue at the same time—FCL-X.

Full Circle Lithium was initially founded to create a process and recycle lithium batteries while reclaiming a large amount of the lithium to make new batteries, according to Webster Marshall, vice president of business development. “The process to take batteries apart was difficult and started in water baths to stop runaway issues,” he says. “This was unsuccessful, and then the solution known as FCL-X was created.” In this solution, Marshall says the company could dismantle batteries and test the process by deconstructing 1,000 different battery types including all chemistries. “When the lithium market took a significant downturn, one of our members, Michael Carver, encouraged new R&D into how well this might work with suppression applications,” Marshall states. “It worked, and now FCL-X technical suppression agent is the flagship of our business.”

1 2½-gallon jugs of PCL-X Pro concentrate. (Photos courtesy of Full Circle Lithium.)

2 A US Fire Pump Emergency Response vehicle being used to deploy FCL-X.

FCL-X is batch mixed in premeasured amounts. It comes in a powder form and instantly dissolves. It has been proven to not harm pump components, plumbing, tank components, appliances, or hose. “It is also LC50-approved,” says Marshall, “and was tested up to 10× the LC50 levels with no issues to humans or aquatic life. It is pH-neutral and has been third-party tested for suppression capabilities.”

FCL-X works by rapidly absorbing heat as well as mitigating the chemical reacti