A house fire burned on State Route 902 near Medical Lake on June 16. The Fire Department was called to 14814 W. at 12:45 p.m. to find the fire already well established. By 4:30 p.m. the fire was still going. A vent pipe for a fuel tank had recently been refilled, causing the fire to flare up every few minutes.
- PUB DATE: 6/17/2021 11:14:45 AM - SOURCE: Cheney Free Press

The Historical Commission recently deemed Pittsfield’s Tyler Street (MA) Fire Station historically significant, making it eligible for Community Preservation Act funding that will support its proposed restoration, reports iberkshires.com.

Developer David Carver and CT Management wish to convert the station into four residential units. Carver has completed multiple new-use renovations on historically significant properties.

The pair has put in a proposal to purchase the station and convert it, and CT Management is currently working on lining up the financing to pull together the project.

The project was requested to be submitted to the committee as an emergency as opposed to being included in the next funding cycle. A city official will now set up a meeting with the committee to see if the application will be considered out of cycle, and, if so, plans to proceed.

The station was constructed in the early 1900s by Joseph McArthur Vance, who was a prominent architect in Pittsfield who designed residential, commercial, industrial, and recreational buildings. It has been out of use since 1970 and was used mainly for storage until being shuttered in 2008. There have been several ideas floated for the building, but its condition has been a deterrent to interested buyers.

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New mission-specific model deployed in recent fire station shooting

AGUA DULCE, Calif. – A Lenco Armored Vehicles BearCat® X3 FireCat is being credited with helping to put out a fire in Agua Dulce, California earlier this month when it was too dangerous for firefighters to approach the scene using traditional means. Deputies from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Special Enforcement Bureau (LASD SEB) were called in with their recently acquired Lenco FireCat when an armed suspect lit his own home on fire, raising concerns that gunfire and flames could threaten the residential neighborhood. The vehicle, with its armor protection and water deployment capabilities, allowed first responders to safely approach and extinguish the flames.

“This is a prime example […] where we can use some new technology to safely handle some of these very volatile incidents and protect the neighborhood. That’s the key—to protect the community,” said Chief Jack Ewell of the LASD Special Operations Division.

The incident began earlier in the day at Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 81, when an off-duty firefighter shot two of his coworkers, killing one, then returned to his nearby home and set it on fire. Due to the earlier shooting, it was unsafe for firefighters to approach the residence, leading the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to call in their FireCat. The responders used a roof-mounted nozzle and drew water from a 300-gallon on-board water tank to extinguish the flames before they could spread to nearby homes or brush, avoiding casualties and property damage. 

“We’re proud that our vehicle was able to help defuse this dangerous situation, protecting both firefighters and deputies from further harm,” expressed Lenny Light, Lenco Armored Vehicles vice president. “The use of this vehicle is just the latest example in the continued trust LASD SEB has placed in us.”

Both the LASD SEB and Prince George’s County Police and Fire Departments in Maryland recently added FireCats to their existing Lenco fleets: LA SEB has 10 BearCats of mission-specific models and Prince George’s County has four in operation.

The X3 FireCat includes many of the same standard features of the BearCat: ruggedized chassis and suspension components, high ballistic protection and a rotating rescue hatch. The design and capabilities of the X3 FireCat allow tactical teams to respond to the scene of an incident and extinguish flames before they escalate and cause large-scale property damage. In addition, the FireCat’s versatility makes it an ideal regional asset, which is precisely what Prince George’s County has implemented between police and fire departments.

To learn more about the X3 FireCat or Lenco’s industry standard response and rescue vehicles, visit LencoArmor.com.

About Lenco Armored Vehicles
Since its founding in 1981, Lenco Armored Vehicles has been the most trusted manufacturer of tactical armored security vehicles by law enforcement, fire and rescue and government entities worldwide. The privately held, family-owned and -operated company revolutionized tactical response with the advent of the BEAR^® and BearCat^®, and since, has designed and fabricated more than 6,000 armored vehiclesin service by more than 700 state and federal agencies in all 50 states. Read more

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