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Posted: Jan 3, 2017

Tamarac (FL) Plans to Build Fire Station Closer to Retirement Complex

The numbers are not what Tamarac's Fire Department wants to see: 20 minutes in response to a 911 call in November, and more than 17 minutes to show to another call the very next day. 

To improve response times to calls made from a district that includes Kings Point, the gated retirement enclave, Tamarac plans to build a fire station in the heart of that community.

The city aims to arrive to 911 calls in eight minutes or less, fire officials said.

It hits that benchmark almost 82 percent of the time in the zone framed to the west by the Sawgrass Expressway, to the north by Southgate Boulevard, to the east by Nob Hill Road and to the south by McNab Road.

Records of 911 calls made in 2016 of that zone show some callers were left waiting upward of 10 minutes. In rare cases, it took first responders 17 minutes or longer to arrive, records show.

Assistant Fire Chief Percy Sayles said the nearest fire station is on Hiatus Road, and with no direct road connecting Hiatus with Nob Hill, "you're behind the eight ball already."

The city's plan: move one of the city's ambulances from the Hiatus station to a new station within shouting distance of Kings Point itself in 2017.

The station, to be at first created from trailers, could be set up on Kings Point property at a parking lot, or at the city's Sports Complex.

There is no pricetag attached to the project yet.

Although the ambulance would not be reserved exclusively for Kings Point — it would serve the entire zone — the bulk of calls for emergency help often come from that area, officials said.

A review of seven of the longest-to-respond calls — all 14 minutes and 51 seconds or longer — show no deaths were reported, and the calls for service included falls without injury, one call of an unknown nature, and a resident locked out of a home.

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Posted: Jan 3, 2017

New Fire Station Planned for Klein (TX) Area

A September opening is planned for the new Fire Station No. 8 of the Klein Volunteer Fire Department, while two existing stations undergo interior renovations to better meet department needs.
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Posted: Jan 3, 2017

London Ambulance Response Times Delayed by Technical Glitch

Ambulance response times were delayed in London overnight after technical problems hit the control room, the ambulance service has said. It is understood the computer system crashed, so calls had to be recorded by pen and paper for nearly five hours on one of the busiest nights of the year.
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Posted: Jan 3, 2017

Video Shows Ambulance Ran Red Light in Naperville (IL) Crash

A surveillance video shows an Aurora Fire Department ambulance going through a red traffic light prior to an early Tuesday morning crash in Naperville that left two paramedics and a Naperville woman injured.

Security videotape taken by the Mobil service station at the northeast corner of Aurora and Ogden avenues, viewed Tuesday morning by the Naperville Sun, caught the image of Aurora Fire Department Paramedic Unit 8 as it traveled west on Aurora Avenue and went through a red light before striking what police said was a 1998 Toyota Camry.

A similar videotape was made by Woody Buick GMC, directly across Ogden Avenue from the gas station. The dealership owner declined to make the tape available to the Sun but sales consultant Jerry Iverson said what he viewed was similar to what was shown on the Mobil tape.

"It looks as if the ambulance went through the red light while heading west on Aurora Avenue, and the Camry was going on Ogden at the time," Iverson said.

It is not known if the ambulance had its lights and sirens activated at the time of the crash. A dense fog advisory was in effect when the collision occurred.

Naperville police Cmdr. Jason Arres, the department's public information officer, was not available to comment on the content of the videos.

The crash occurred about 3:25 a.m. Police found the ambulance on its side and the Camry – driven by a 52-year-old woman -- off the roadway and in the Woody Buick GMC used vehicle parking lot.

 

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Posted: Jan 3, 2017

Germantown (TN) Restoring Historic Fire Apparatus

Germantown Fire Chief John Selberg well remembers getting out of class to respond when a blaze broke out somewhere in town. Into the late 1970s - way past its early days as a sleepy horse community - the suburban city enlisted the boys of Germantown High to respond to fire calls during the day.

Before today's professional fire department evolved to protect the city of now more than 40,000, a less formal network of volunteers of varying ages protected the community using the truck purchased for about $6,500 from a Cordova fireworks company that closed after it stopped making munitions at the end of World War II.

Though its days of active service are long since over, the 1942 American LaFrance truck dubbed Red Devil 1 remains as a reminder of Germantown's simpler times. And it'll soon be getting a face lift that will allow it to serve as a fitting historic display.

A committee formed by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen has begun exploring restoration for the truck, with a goal of returning it to the splendor of its heyday. Retired from service when former Mayor Boyd Arthur and aldermen declared it obsolete in 1983, Red Devil 1 became a landmark at Cloyes Park but has fallen into disrepair with peeling paint and damage from critters that have made the outdoor display their home.

The truck was moved recently from the park to the city's Fire Station No. 4 on Forest Hill-Irene, where it will remain in a metal building behind the station until restoration is complete. And that job will be a long-term process, said Selberg, 56, who has been chief about 51/2 years.

The price tag of the restoration is a big question mark right now. Selberg said there's really no estimate until the committee dealing with the restoration has more time to explore the issue.

Fundraising is expected to take place to help with the project as well. Representatives of the Fire Department, Historic Commission, Public Safety Commission and other community members will be involved.

 

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