Typically, old Aliquippa equipment and fire apparatus are stripped of elements useful to the department and scrapped. That, officials assumed, would be the fate of the 26-year-old truck.

Plans changed when members of the department learned about a New Jersey-based group that refurbishes old fire equipment and donates it to departments in the Dominican Republic.

It seemed like a good idea to help others in need, so Foringer and his fellow firefighters began making plans.

He reached out to Mayor Dwan Walker and eventually to the city council. Members approved Foringer’s motion, giving the all clear for the department to donate the truck from the city as a whole.

The new system will receive digital information from dispatch, displaying it on screens throughout the building along with an automated tone.

"It's an upgrade that has taken hold across the country, this is the latest and the greatest,” McCaw said.

In days past, each station would hear every call in their room and would determine if it was their jurisdiction. This system would be more specific, giving the first responders more sleep.

That's why South Bend's fire department is building two new stations.

They found out the old and undersized Station 9 is located too far east to fully serve the River Park neighborhood.

"The fire department has been actively trying to relocate that station, really since the 90s,” said Skwarcan.

That new station will add an ambulance and a boat for faster response times. It's also going to be a lot safer for first responders.

"It will have a pull-through bay, so you don't have the danger of backing into the station on Mishawaka avenue, which is a really busy street."

Right now future station 9 is just an empty lot. Skwarcan says it won't be finished until 2019.

But station 4 is much closer to move-in ready. Possibly by mid-April, according to Skwarcan.

That new station is on Olive Street right next door to the current firehouse.

Skwarcan says it'll be around 8,000 square feet. Enough space to house two rigs.

Andover firefighters are sounding the alarm about the Fire Department's aerial ladder truck, saying it is undermanned and creating a safety hazard to them as well as town residents.

Since $300,000 in overtime funding was cut by former Town Manager Buzz Stapczynski in 2009, the ladder truck has been operated by one person — the driver.

"For the firefighters, it's firefighter safety," said Fire Department Union President Eric Teichert. "It's also public safety. When you only have one guy on that truck it limits what they can do."

The ladder truck has a lot more on it than a ladder, however. The truck houses a host of equipment, including the Jaws of Life, a supplied air system, extra air bottles, supports for a car that was in an accident, drills, saws, salvage covers, and a force entry kit.