Cabot Fire Department's newest fire engine was dedicated into service at Fire Station No. 2, itself the department's newest building. Area residents, friends, and city officials watched as the previous Engine No. 2 was moved to make way for the new engine in a "watering down" ceremony; department officials explained the older engine will remain in service as a standby unit for when the primary engine is used on calls.

Firefighter Gabe Tishler acted as master of ceremony, and told of the capabilities of the engine, a 2017 Ferrara Cinder. Cabot mayor Bill Cypert Fire Chief Phil Robinson also said on the improvement in fire protection.

Tishler said the new engine has a 1,000-gallon tank with a pump capable of delivering 1,500 gallons per minute.

The engine is also equipped with 1,000 feet of 5-inch hose; 600 feet of 3-inch attack line; and two 200-foot attack lines; and a 200-foot grass line, as well as a rear-view camera, wireless headsets, LED lighting throughout the engine, other pieces of equipment.

Cypert placed a plaque dedicating the new engine to Jimmie Bell, Roy Bulice, William Clark, Carl Pickard, Tommy Reaves, Martha Shock, Dan Stitt, Betty Templeton and Eugenia Womack.

Robinson later explained that to help fund the purchase of the new engine, and create a fire apparatus upgrade fund, these individuals had released claims to funds from the Local Police and Firefighters fund (LOPFI) that remained after transitioning to a different retirement plan for public employees.

Cypert credited the strategic planning by the city that ensured the "building of infrastructure for health and safety."

The fire broke out around 3:30 a.m. at Station 61, at 8081 Western Ave., across the street from Knott's Berry Farm. It was unclear what caused the flames at the aging station house, earmarked to close and make way for a new, $13 million station house nearby.

"The likelihood of this being repaired and used again is slim," fire Capt. Larry Kurtz said.

More than 60 firefighters from multiple agencies used tower-mounted hoses for much of the fight, because the fire was so hot and the structure so unstable; fire officials deemed a ground battle too dangerous, Kurtz said.

Ground crews finally were able to enter around 8:30 a.m., with hotspots lingering until 2 p.m.

The firefighters inside Station 61 all escaped the burning building without injury, but a $1 million 100-foot aerial fire truck, one battalion chief Suburban, one swift-water rescue vehicle and one boat used for swift-water rescues were destroyed.

In all, about $1.5 million in firefighting equipment may have been lost in the fire, Kurtz said.

"The bottom line is we're so happy there were no injuries," Buena Park Mayor Beth Swift said. "Shocking as it is to have a fire at a fire station, the firefighters know their jobs and they do them well."

Investigators from the Fire Authority, the Anaheim Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms were expected to sift through the debris for clues as to the fire's cause.

The fire will not impact any calls for firefighting or paramedic coverage, Kurtz said: "We have plans in place for scenarios like this. We're a very large organization, and we have plenty of backup apparatus and quarters."

Backup vehicles are being outfitted and moved into the area, Kurtz said. Plans are being made to use a local hotel or motel to house firefighters until more permanent accommodations can be worked out.

The city has been looking into the possibility of constructing a new fire station nearby on La Palma Avenue.

The mayor, who went to the station at around 5 a.m. Thursday, said the fire would put the plans to replace the building "in fast motion," but the city still needs to find funding.

Both firefighters were wearing seatbelts. No injuries were reported.

The crash occurred just before 8:30 a.m. Beth Sprague, the administrative assistant to the Goshen fire chief, said the truck was going west on Hampton Road with a certified tender operator and a trainee on board at about 25 mph. The two were out on a training drive when an oncoming vehicle's extended side mirrors encroached into the tender truck's lane, Sprague said.

As the tender truck moved off the road to make room for the oncoming vehicle, the tender's tires struck soft dirt, she said, and the tender then slid into the ditch, tipping over onto its passenger side just as the truck came to a stop.