This is the first major re-model for the Harker Heights Fire Department, which is nearly 32 years old, Sims said.

The renovations include adding onto the existing building to create a separate space for administration offices.

The current structure will continue to hold the firetrucks and EMS vehicles, Sims said.

It is also being re-modeled to hold private rooms, bathrooms and common spaces for the firefighters.

"This is their home for a third of their life, each and every shift, and when you take that into account, they need to have the space to do what they need to do, just as if they were at home, but be in a ready state of response,” Sims said.

Toward the back of the property, a separate building is being constructed into a gym and training facility for both firefighters and all city employees as well.

One firefighter and a woman in a car were taken to a hospital as a precaution following a collision between a Hamilton Fire Department engine and a car.

There was a small amount of damage to the right front bumper of the fire truck. The impact forced the car to land atop a fire hydrant.

“This is big for us and it will be a great addition,” Riga Township fire chief Mike Norman said when the new 3,000-gallon pumper/tanker truck was parked in front of the station.

The truck cost $277,000 and was made possible by the voter-approved fire equipment millage. It replaces an engine that was 25 years old.

Norman said the truck gives the department more capabilities for a variety of situations. He said one of the biggest advantages is the amount of water it can bring to the scene of a fire. Being a pumper/tanker allows it to carry a lot of water, but it also the ability to pump out a lot — 1,500 gallons per minute.

The White Lake Volunteer Fire Department recently purchased a 2006 mini-pumper truck to add to its fleet. The truck will service the Village of White Lake, Town of Evergreen and provide mutual aid to the Town of Wolf River.

A complete rebuild of the department’s existing pumper would cost approximately $400,000, Thomas told council. The labour costs for such a project mount quickly, as the truck “has to be stripped to its frame,” and rebuilt with all new materials.

Rebuilding would also take about six months, which means the city would have to rent another truck during that time, which would further add to that $400,000 price tag, Thomas said.

A tender to purchase the truck was posted on the city website, as well as on MERX—a website dedicate primarily for government tenders—and “only one firm responded to the tender.”

That firm was Carrier Centres Emergency Vehicles, which quoted a price of $588,319.33, plus applicable taxes.