Cheryl Schweizer
Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, Wash.
(TNS)
Jul. 12—QUINCY — A new rescue rig went into service at Grant County Fire District 3 on July 10. Chief David Durfee said it replaces a rescue truck that was reaching the end of its service life.
“It’s a rescue truck that houses all of our extrication tools for motor vehicle accidents, our specialty tech equipment and our rescue equipment. There are some added storage compartments and added lights,” he said.
The truck cost about $301,000, Durfee said, purchased with district funds. It’s a brand-new truck; typically, new trucks are built from scratch, which was the case with the new rescue rig. District commissioners awarded the contract in April 2024, he said, and GCFD 3 personnel traveled to Mississippi in mid-June to pick it up from the manufacturer.
Deep South Fire Trucks, Seminary, Mississippi, built the truck.
There’s a lot of farmland and sagebrush in GCFD 3, but there are also extensive areas for climbing and hiking, Interstate 90 and State Route 28, camping areas and performance venues.
“We have motor vehicle accidents, climbing incidents, rescues off the trail system we have here, you name it,” Durfee said. “It gets used pretty often. It’s four-wheel drive, so it has capabilities that allow us to assist with rescues and other things.”
The new truck has updated communications systems, he said, and a heavy-duty wench that will make rescues easier.
Typically, GCFD 3 rescue rigs are yellow, but the new truck is fire-engine red. Durfee said that was a choice that reflects GCFD 3’s goal to work together and with its contracted partners. The district provides fire services to the city of Quincy, a relationship that stretches back more than 50 years, Durfee said.
“The reason for switching to the red scheme from yellow is to be unified with all our apparatus,” Durfee said. “Currently, we have (different colors), so the commissioners made the decision to stay unified with one color.”
Fire District 3 received a grant that will pay for a new water tender, which is a tanker used to fill trucks on fire scenes that don’t have water nearby. District personnel will be going back to Deep South Fire Trucks to pick it up later this week, Durfee said.
© 2025 the Columbia Basin Herald, Wash.. Visit www.columbiabasinherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Posted: Jul 13, 2025
JA’KORI MADISON
The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.
(TNS)
The Milton Volunteer Fire Department received $250,000 to upgrade its station, helping it enhance fire protection for the community and ensure first responders have the resources they need to protect lives, according to Fire Chief Damon Broussard.
Lafayette Consolidated Government, which provided the funding, hosted a ribbon cutting Friday to celebrate the newly renovated fire station at 303 W. Milton Ave. Mayor-President Monique Boulet, former state Sen. Paige Cortez and members of the community were on hand.
Now we have a place that if we need to come in and take a break, maybe get a cup of coffee or something, we have a place for them to go, because before it was just a vacant building,” Broussard said.
The building had remained vacant since its construction in 1976, leading to the gradual deterioration of its insulation. The renovations included a kitchen with a sink, an office with a desk and computer, and a refined paint finish. While the improvements benefit first responders, the new building also can serve as a source of pride for the community.
Students can now visit the station on field trips — something that wasn’t previously possible due to the building’s condition, Broussard said.
“A big thank you to all those who are first responders, particularly here in Milton. Being in the unincorporated area, adds a layer of challenge. So achieving this is special, Boulet said.
© 2025 The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.. Visit www.theadvocate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Posted: Jul 13, 2025
The Gerrittsen Beach (NY) Volunteer Fire Department has a primary response area that runs from the outskirts of Brooklyn to Jamaica Bay, Oceanside, and Plumb Beach. The department was fortunate to receive two grants that enabled it to consider replacing an aging engine.
Chief Daniel Cavanaugh points out, “We have 12 volunteer firefighters who respond alongside Fire Department of New York, which has overall responsibility for the area, and we report to the Office of Fire Prevention and Control.” He adds that Gerrittsen Beach is one of nine volunteer fire departments in the City of New York.
The tactical pumper has a Darley PSMC 1,500-gpm midship pump and a 300-gallon water tank.
Cavanaugh says that Gerrittsen Beach has purchased all of its fire apparatus from Darley. “We had a 2001 Darley engine on an HME chassis that was showing its age, and when we got a $350,000 grant we were able to start the project on getting a new engine,” he says. “After we got an additional $250,000 grant, we decided to go with a Darley tactical pumper, especially for its maneuverability and ability to get into and out of tight spots.”
Kyle Darley, vice president of Darley’s Tactical Division, says the tactical pumper Gerrittsen Beach purchased is built on a Ford F-550 XLT 4×4 four-door cab and chassis and is powered by a 6.7-liter PowerStroke diesel engine, and a 10-speed automatic transmission. Darley says the cab is set up to carry four firefighters, two of them in H.O. Bostrom self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) seats with IMMI SmartDock brackets, with two SCBA brackets on an aluminum backboard in between those seats to hold SCBA for the driver and officer.
Seating in the crew cab accommodates two firefighters in H.O. Bostrom SCBA seats with IMMI SmartDock brackets, with two SCBA brackets on an aluminum backboard in between those seats to hold SCBA for the driver and officer.
He notes that the tactical pumper has a 1,500-gallon-per-minute (gpm) Darley PSMC midship pump; an integral copolymer body; a 300-gallon water tank; a 20-gallon foam cell; and a Darley AutoCAFS system with a FoamPro 2001 foam injection system.
The rig has two preconnected crosslays of 200 feet of 1¾-inch hose and one crosslay of 2½-inch hose, all compressed-air-foam-capable. The tactical pumper also has two 2½-inch discharges on the left side of the pump panel and one 2½-inch and one 3-inch discharge on the right side. At the r
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Posted: Jul 12, 2025
Amie Windsor
The Press Democrat
(TNS)
Gold Ridge Fire Protection District is tentatively set to reopen the Bodega fire station this weekend after the district and the nonprofit that owns the firehouse have verbally come to terms on a one-year lease brokered by a former Sonoma County supervisor.
Occidental attorney and former Fifth District Supervisor Eric Koenigshofer got involved in the negotiations in advance of a heated town hall-style meeting this week about the station’s July 1 closure.
He told The Press Democrat he created and brought the deal to Gold Ridge and the Bodega Volunteer Fire Department ― the nonprofit that owns the fire station, adjoining McCaughey Hall community center and U.S. post office ― because “it was important to get the fire station back open again” and address community public safety concerns.
Under the agreement, the nonprofit would lease the station to Gold Ridge for $1 a month ― as opposed to the $2,000 a month BVFD had been demanding ― until June 30, 2026. The deal also would establish a framework for a longer term lease beyond that.
On Monday evening, the nonprofit invited community members to McCaughey Hall to discuss the lease dispute. Some 100 community members joined Gold Ridge personnel and BVFD board members at the event.
On behalf of the nonprofit, Koenigshofer “tried to give an explanation of the time frame and how we got to where we were,” said James Piazza, a BVFD board member. “Then it got dirty. Everyone was up in arms. A handful of people wanted to give (the station) away. Others want to hold onto it.”
A straw poll taken at the event concluded with 60% of community members favoring a $1-a-year lease option for the firehouse ― rather than see Gold Ridge take over the station altogether. The planned deal ups that to $1-a-month, or $12 a year.
Piazza describes it as “a lease to keep the door open and finish negotiations.” The fire district and nonprofit plan to work throughout the next year to negotiate a longer-term agreement, he said.
As for the one-year lease, the two parties were working to finalize it on Thursday. Gold Ridge Chief Shepley Schroth-Cary said he feels “hopeful” about a weekend reopening of the Bodega firehouse. “Both sides are working hard to make it work,” he added.
The nonprofit had proposed $2,000 a month in rent for the roughly 12-year-old station, citing its BVFD-owned fire engines and state of the art equipment. “We are trying to lease it for a reasonable amount,” said David Hamilton, president of the BVFD board.
Gold Ridge countered with $1 a year, an amount that Schroth-Cary says is common for the taxpayer-funded district.
Bodega fire station history The July 1 closure of the Bodega fire station stems from Gold Ridge Fire Protection District leaders failing to renew their lease with a nonprofit called the Bodega Volunteer Fire Department. BVFD owns the station even though the fire department, which had the same name as the nonprofit, stopped providing firefighting services once Gold Ridge absorbed the BVFD service area into its territory in 2019. Shortly before then, BVFD — the nonprofi
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