Noah Feit – The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)

Two people were killed Sunday in separate early morning crashes in Orangeburg County, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

The first crash happened at about 5 a.m. on U.S. 321, said Sgt. Tyler Tidwell.

A 2016 Ford ambulance was driving south on U.S. 321 and near the intersection with Mack Road it hit a pedestrian, according to Tidwell. The pedestrian, later identified as 38-year-old Orangeburg resident Marcus Glover, was taken to an area hospital and died there, the Orangeburg County Coroner’s Office said.

An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday, according to the coroner’s office.

Tidwell said that none of the people in the ambulance were hurt, and no other injuries were reported.

Less than an hour later another pedestrian was killed in an unrelated Orangeburg County crash.

At about 5:40 a.m., an unknown vehicle was driving north on Belleville Road when it crashed into another pedestrian, then it left the scene in a hit-and-run collision, according to Tidwell. That’s about 27 miles from the location of the first crash, and near Exit 145 on Interstate 26.

The pedestrian from the second collision also died, and has not been publicly identified by the coroner’s office.

Tidwell said the hit-and-run crash is under investigation by the Highway Patrol.

Anyone with information about the hit-and-run collision, or the vehicle and driver involved, is asked to call the Highway Patrol at 803-896-9621 or 800-768-1503, CrimeStoppers at 888-CRIME-SC or submit an online tip. Tips can also be texted to *HP.

Through June 8, at least 331 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2025, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, at least 948 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.

At least 10 people have died in Orangeburg County crashes in 2025, according to DPS data. There were 46 deaths in the county in 2024, DPS reported.

© 2025 The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.). Visit www.thesunnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
© Copyright 2025 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved

The post SC Ambulance Involved in Fatal Crash appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

R. Christian Smith
Chicago Tribune
(TNS)

Aurora is considering renovating Fire Station 3, which still has the same layout as when it was built in 1972.

The project is anticipated to cost around $570,000 and would look to overhaul firefighters’ living quarters, among other things, according to Aurora Assistant Fire Chief Mike Kaufman.

He told the Aurora City Council’s Infrastructure and Technology Committee on Monday that the station at 600 W. Indian Trail was not built for a world where both men and women serve as firefighters, which is the world we are now living in.

“It is the only remaining fire station within the city of Aurora that does not have private, gender-neutral sleeping and bathroom areas for all firefighters,” Kaufman said.

The project would renovate the station’s upstairs, which currently includes a bathroom, locker room and single bunkroom, according to Kaufman. He said the renovation would make it so the station can offer private sleeping areas to all firefighters, as well as separate men’s and women’s locker rooms and showers.

Currently, if a woman were to work at the fire station, she would have to take her belongings from the locker room, down the hall to the bathroom and into one of the stalls to change, since the locker room does not have a door on it, Kaufman said. Plus, only one of the station’s two showers has hot water, he said.

Through the renovation, the ceilings of the men’s and women’s restrooms would be raised both to provide more space and to reduce the risk of mold and mildew, along with other changes intended to make the station more hygienic, Kaufman said.

The renovation project also would add glazing to the station’s windows facing Indian Trail for more privacy and thermal protection, would replace the original and deteriorating laminate countertop in the station’s watch office and would replace the HVAC units that are already scheduled for replacement, he said.

The project would be funded through the Aurora Fire Department’s capital fund, which currently has $550,000 in it, according to Kaufman. Any additional funds needed for the project, he said, would come through the Aurora Fire Department’s general fund for repairs and maintenance of its buildings and grounds.

“I want to make it clear that we’re not asking for any more city funds,” he said. “This is already budgeted money that would come out of the fire department budget if we go over what is expected to be paid for this project.”

The Infrastructure and Technology Committee, without discussion, voted unanimously on Monday to recommend T. Fisher Construction, LLC, of Ingleside for the project. Kaufman said that, through a bidding process, T. Fisher offered the lowest cost that also met the city’s requirements.

rsmith@chicagotribune.com

©2025 Chicago Tribune. Visit chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The post Aurora (IL) Considers $570K Renovation of Fire Station 3 appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

The Waelder Volunteer Fire Department soon will be better equipped to respond more effectively to grass and brush fires, thanks to a $10,626 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and the city of Waelder.

The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with $3,158 in matching funds from the VFD, will enable the department to purchase new wildland firefighting tools and an updated gear cleaning system to help maintain firefighters’ protective equipment. The upgrades will help improve firefighter safety, enhance emergency response capabilities and extend the life of essential gear used in the field.

The department currently lacks access to a proper washer-extractor and dryer, and standard residential machines are not capable of removing harmful contaminants or handling the heavy-duty gear. The new equipment will help reduce firefighter exposure to hazardous materials and help ensure turnout gear is cleaned and dried safely and effectively.

“Our equipment was aging, and this grant came at a critical time,” said Chief Bobby White. “With these upgrades, we’ll be able to respond more quickly and confidently to emergencies in our community without worrying about whether our equipment can keep up.”

Waelder VFD serves about 125 square miles of Gonzales County, including the community of Waelder. The department responds to about 130 calls each year, ranging from wildland and structure fires to motor vehicle accidents and downed power lines. The new wildland tools will replace aging equipment and allow for faster containment of fires, reducing risks to people, property and the environment.

“Without this support, we would’ve had to seek additional funding from the ESD board or turn to the community for donations,” White said. “We’re grateful for LCRA and are proud to be able to continue to serve our community.”

The community grant is one of 45 grants awarded recently through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders and nonprofit organizations fund eligible capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. The City of Waelder is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and is a partner in the grant program.

Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in July 2025. More information is available at lcra.org/cdpp.

The post Waelder (TX) VFD Receives Grant for Wildland Firefighting Tools, Gear Cleaning appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

The Wilmer (TX) Fire Department recently took delivery of its first ladder truck, a Smeal 107-foot aerial. The department covers a small town in Dallas County along the Interstate 45 corridor.

“This is the first aerial for our fire department,” says Chief David Gifford. “We have a population of 7,500 in the city, which covers 6½ square miles, but our coverage area is more than 18 square miles. We have 18 paid full-time firefighters who staff a 2024 Spartan pumper and the new aerial ladder.”

Gifford notes that Wilmer has experienced a growth spurt, with its daytime population swelling to 35,000 people. “We have a lot of warehousing with some of the structures being a million square feet or more, and that also means a lot of truck traffic. With all the warehouses being built, we needed an aerial device where we could put an elevated waterway on any fire that broke out.”

Brian Cudaback, apparatus sales director for Metro Fire Apparatus Specialists Inc., who sold the Smeal aerial to Wilmer Fire, says Wilmer wanted a large water tank on the aerial as well as a high-volume pump and a generator.

Smeal built Wilmer a 107-foot heavy-duty rear-mount aerial ladder on a Spartan Gladiator long four door (LFD) cab and chassis with a 5-inch raised roof; seating for five firefighters, three of them in H.O. Bostrom self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) seats with IMMI SmartDock brackets; a 565-horsepower (hp) Cummins X15 engine; and an Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission.

Cudaback says the aerial ladder has a Waterous CSUC20 2,000-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pump, a 480-gallon water tank, a 20-gallon foam tank, and a FoamPro 2001 Class A foam system. He adds that the wheelbase on the aerial is 250 inches, overall length is 42 feet 7 inches, and overall height is 12 feet 4 inches.

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