Apparatus Ideas Bob Vaccaro

The Montgomery County Emergency Service District (ESD) 1 is an all-paid department located in northwest Texas. It serves an area encompassing 29 square miles of rural farm and ranches that is rapidly growing, according to Chief Jason Oliphant.

“Our Emergency Services District is a political subdivision of the State of Texas. Montgomery County ESD #1 was the first Emergency Services District formed in Montgomery County and is governed by a board of five commissioners. These commissioners must reside in the district and are appointed for a two- year term by the Montgomery County Commissioners Court.”

Effective October 1, 2016, Montgomery County ESD #12 entered into an Interlocal Agreement with Montgomery County ESD # 1. The purpose of this agreement was to provide less costly yet more efficient fire protection for the residents of ESD #12 and ESD #1. This agreement also provided both districts with additional equipment and more experienced staffing for the utmost protection.

On November 7, 2017, the residents of both districts voted in favor of consolidating ESD #12 and ESD #1. The new name for the merged districts became Montgomery County ESD 1.

Montgomery County ESD 1 currently has 115 full-time employees and is growing, with the addition of two more stations this year. Nine fire stations are strategically located throughout the district, and members respond to more than 10,000 emergency incidents annually. Because of the expanded area and relationships with other agencies, the department has numerous specialized areas of training, including structural collapse, wildland firefighting, swift water rescue, and rescue dive operations.

“The department is currently working on a five-year plan for station development and apparatus replacement. Our oldest apparatus will be put into reserve status after nine to 10 years of active status if we can facilitate that plan,” Oliphant says.

1 The identical pumper tankers for Montgomery County (TX) ESD 1 built on Rosenbauer Commander chassis. (Photos courtesy of Rosenbauer America.)

2 The rigs feature a flip-down Fold-A- Tank storage compartment.

3 The swivel tank dump valve on all three pumpertankers.

4 The fire apparatus feature slide-out tool trays.

He continues, “We went with Rosenbauer for our three pumper-tankers. We went with a different design recommended by our apparatus committee. It also made things easier by going with the HGAC program instead of having to go out to bid. We were lucky not to have to wait three or four years for delivery, like so many departments at this time.” The committee’s visit to the Rosenbauer factory went well, and members were impressed with the operation.

“Some changes we made with this new design from previous appa

Hannah Shields
Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne
(TNS)

CHEYENNE – Wyoming’s top five elected officials voted Wednesday to award $180,000 in emergency mineral royalty grant funding to the Laramie County Fire Authority to rebuild a fire station that burned down in mid-January.

LCFA Chief Jason Caughey told state officials a staff member was welding one of the fire trucks in Fire Station 74 a few hours before the fire was spotted. The staff member went home around 4 p.m., three-and-a-half hours before the witnesses driving down Yellowstone Road spotted the fire.

“It appears that where he was welding, it was the ignition source,” Caughey said.

Last week, Caughey approached the State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB) to ask for $250,000 in emergency MRG funding. This amount made up the 32% of construction costs to rebuild the fire station that wasn’t covered by insurance.

The Office of State Lands and Investments, which oversees this grant funding, found this project did not meet the “emergency” threshold. It deferred the LCFA’s application for regular mineral royalty grant (MRG) funding, which would be approved during the board’s special meeting in June. The state fire marshal and Wyoming forestry division echoed this recommendation.

However, Caughey said LCFA couldn’t wait that long for funding. The Laramie County Planning Department utilizes an emergency building permit program in the event of a natural disaster or fire. If the facility is rebuilt within one year, “it doesn’t have to jump through all of the same hoops that a normal building process would.”

“By not being able to complete this project within one year, it’s going to cost us and the taxpayers a significant amount more money,” Caughey said. “To rebuild that same existing station today, I anticipate 25% more.”

Without the emergency grant funding, Caughey said the county fire authority would have to take out a loan, and the interest would be paid for by Laramie County taxpayers.

An OSLI staff member said during last week’s SLIB meeting the application was incomplete, missing two documents. SLIB members agreed to hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss the matter, once the documents were submitted.

In both meetings, State Auditor Kristi Racines asked Caughey if a $100,000 grant would be sufficient. Caughey answered that partial funding “would be greatly appreciated.”

“It allows us to continue this project moving forward without throwing the bigger wrench of no (state) funding into this project,” he said.

State Treasurer Curt Meier asked about the details of the newly constructed fire house, such as installing a fire alarm system that’s tied into a central system. Caughey said a centralized monitoring system will be installed, “which will give us early detection of any events that happened in that building.”

Racines moved to grant $180,000 in emergency MRG funding, which passed the board. Caughey later told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle the LCFA will be able to absorb the remaining $70,000 into its current funding mechanisms, without any impact on local taxpayers.

“We’re grateful for the support of the State Land Investment Board today, for funding the additional $180,000 toward the rebuild of Station 74,” Caughey said. “We don’t believe the difference that’s remaining will have any impact on the project.”

© 2025 Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne, Wyo.). Visit www.wyomingnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The post La

PRECISION FIRE APPARATUS—Independence (MO) Fire Department aerial ladder quint. Spartan Metro Star cab and chassis; Cummins X12 500-hp engine; Waterous CSUC20 2,000-gpm pump; 110-foot aerial ladder; UPF Poly 500-gallon water tank. Dealer: Brad Johnston, Precision Fire Apparatus, Camdenton, MO.

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Angie DiMichele
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
(TNS)

Delray Beach Fire Rescue driver-engineer David Wyatt has been terminated, months after he drove across railroad tracks into the path of an oncoming Brightline train, the city announced Thursday.

City Manager Terrence Moore made the decision following an “in-depth administrative investigation” into the Dec. 28 crash, which left 15 people injured — 12 train passengers along with Wyatt and two of his fellow firefighters.

Wyatt, 46, received a noncriminal traffic citation after a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office investigation that concluded in February. The Sheriff’s Office found that though the fire truck was still responding to an emergency, Wyatt failed to use “due care” in that he “did not identify” the train as he drove the ladder truck into its path.

Moore in a statement released Thursday afternoon called the termination “the appropriate course of action.”

“I believe in fairness, due process, and accountability. And while I acknowledge that everyone is capable of making a mistake, this incident revealed a pattern of carelessness and poor judgment that went beyond an isolated error,” Moore said in the statement. “These actions — taken by an individual in a public safety position—placed lives at risk, compromised our operational readiness, and violated the principles of professionalism that our residents expect and deserve from public servants.”

This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.

©2025 South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Visit sun-sentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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