BROOKFIELD, WI – March 14, 2023 – REV Group, Inc. (NYSE: REVG), a leading company that designs and manufactures specialty vehicles in the fire & emergency, commercial and recreation industries, announces Robert “Montie” Watson as the new Vice President and General Manager of the Holden, Louisiana facility which produces Ferrara and KME fire trucks. Watson will report to Dan DesRochers, President, REV Fire Group.

With over 35 years of operations, supply chain and product management expertise in manufacturing and industrial environments, Watson joins REV Group from J.B. Poindexter & Company where he held various roles of increasing responsibility within the company’s business units, most recently as Vice President of Fleet Strategic Accounts for Morgan Truck Body and Vice President of Operations for Leer Truck Accessories Group. Watson has also served in operational leadership roles with Cintas Corporation, Caldwell Manufacturing, Digital Optics Corporation and Alcatel Telecommunications.

“Montie has the manufacturing industry experience and significant lean production skills to help our Holden facility increase efficiencies and throughput and ensure on-time deliveries to our customers,” said Dan DesRochers, President, REV Fire Group. “We are delighted to welcome Montie to the team and look forward to his leadership in the next phase of growth for Ferrara and KME, two renowned fire apparatus brands.”

Watson served as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy and holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Auburn University.

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About Ferrara Fire Apparatus, Inc.

Ferrara, a subsidiary of REV Gr

Firefighters in Sabino rescued a man Monday who was trapped in a grain bin.

Firefighters responded to the 3800 block of Stone Road in Sabina for a report of a 76-year-old buried up to his chest in a grain bin filled with corn.

• Nominate a Rural Fire Department to Receive Life-Saving Grain Bin Equipment

The call came in at about 11:15 a.m. and the rescue took nearly six hours. THe man entered the grain bin to investigate a potential leak.

Firefighters had to cut holes in the bin to let corn out to lower the levels enough to extricate the man. He was transported to the hospital, but remained conscious and communicating with firefighters throughout the rescue.

HME Ahrens-Fox—Mokelumne Hill (CA) Volunteer Fire Department Super Type 6 California OES spec pumper. Ford F-550 4-door cab and chassis; Power Stroke 6.7L-V8 330-hp engine; Darley KHM 500-gpm rear-mount pump; UPF Poly 300-gallon water tank; 20-gallon foam cell; Ahrens-Fox 3000 single-agent foam system. Dealer: Chris Kenner, BIT Pros Fire Services, Escondido, CA.

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Don Sweeney – The Charlotte Observer
A driver ran over a fire hose at a Los Angeles blaze, knocking down and injuring a firefighter, California officials reported.

Firefighters were called to a fire outside Synthetic Grass Depot in Tarzana at 4:49 a.m. Monday, March 13, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in an alert.

While they fought the blaze, a civilian vehicle ran over a 4-inch hose in the street, knocking down a firefighter, the alert said. The firefighter suffered minor injuries.

“Due to the location of the nearest fire hydrant to an incident, it is sometimes necessary (we avoid it whenever possible) to cross streets with the large diameter supply line,” firefighters wrote.

The alert warned drivers never to cross a fire hose, saying “the potential for life-altering injuries is very real.”

Firefighters were expected to remain at the scene through the morning to finish mopping up the blaze, the alert said.

Tarzana is a neighborhood about 40 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

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Muncie (IN) Mayor Dan Ridenour on March 2 declared two new city fire stations among his goals for this year, thestarpress.com reported.

The new stations replace Fire Station No. 5 along Tillotson Avenue next to Christy Woods and Fire Station No. 6 along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at McCulloch Park, according to the report.

Ridenour told The Star Press that the combined cost of the two new stations was about $15 million to be paid for by a bond issue, the report said. The bond would be paid back with Economic Development Income Tax, or EDIT, money, which is under the control of the mayor.

However, Muncie City Council would have to approve the bond issue in the coming weeks for the funding plan to work, the report said.

Fire Station No. 5 will be a two-story building and will be larger than Fire Station No. 6 to accommodate a ladder truck needed to reach upper stories on the tall buildings at nearby Ball State University, the report said. IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital is also located near Fire Station No. 5.