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Posted: Jan 5, 2017

UCSD May Build Campus Fire Station

A long-awaited fire station might finally be coming to the rapidly growing campus of UC-San Diego, university and city officials said this week. The station was among 19 new facilities recommended in a 2011 independent consultant's report that declared emergency coverage inadequate in several parts of San Diego, including the neighborhoods around UCSD.

And the new station has become even more important in the wake of the City Council’s decision last month to delete from planning maps the controversial Regents Road Bridge, which could have shortened emergency response times in the area.  

Since the 2011 study, city and university officials have discussed a partnership where the university would provide land and pay for construction of the new station, while the city would fund operations and maintenance.

But no formal agreement has ever been presented publicly, and community leaders in University City have called progress on the project frustratingly slow.

A spokesman for the city’s Fire-Rescue Department said this week that city and university officials are still discussing the project and expect to unveil a proposal this spring, most likely in April.

Meanwhile, the university issued a statement on Wednesday including similar information.

“The city and UC San Diego are discussing the potential fire station project and look forward to bringing more details to the City Council for consideration, hopefully in April,” the statement said.


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Posted: Jan 5, 2017

City to Purchase New Ambulance for St. Clair Shores

ST. CLAIR SHORES, MI - St. Clair Shores will soon be getting a new ambulance. City Council has approved the purchase of a new vehicle to replace one that is often under repair.

Fire Chief George Morehouse said the department looked at rebuilding an ambulance on a new chassis or a full replacement, but found that only heavy-duty chassis that are larger than what the city needs would fit the current ambulance box, the St. Clair Shores Sentinel is reporting.

The city has remounted two ambulances in the past three years, but according to documents provided to City Council, manufacturers have discontinued chassis models for the current ambulance.

And, he said, it would take longer to rebuild an ambulance then it would be to order new. At the same time, the city would be able to keep the older ambulance in service while a new one is being built, instead of having to send it out for a new chassis.

City Manager Mike Smith said that he then directed the department to look into purchasing an entirely new ambulance.

“For $15,000 more, we could get a brand new ambulance. The box is new; the ride is the same ride we’ve got now on the Ford chassis,” he said. “It’s still within the budget that we laid out.”

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Posted: Jan 5, 2017

Wyatt Ranches Contributes $127K to Benavides Fire Rescue

Wyatt Ranches donated $127,000 to Benavides Fire Rescue, the volunteer firefighting and rescue organization for the City of Benavides and a vast area of Duval County.

"Wyatt Ranches and the Wyatt Foundation have really been there for our emergency services in Duval County," Garcia stated. "In your worst hour, when you call with an emergency, these people have really played a major part to help our Duval County citizens get those emergency services."

Wyatt Ranches donated $127,000 to Benavides Fire Rescue, the volunteer firefighting and rescue organization for the City of Benavides and a vast area of Duval County. The funds, procured through the Wyatt Foundation, were earmarked for the purchase of a fully-equipped metropolitan rescue pumper, the refurbishment of an existing tanker truck to support the rescue pumper, unexpected costs to complete a new fire station that was already under construction, and the remainder was used for the annual Christmas toy-give-away program organized by the Fire Department.


Juan Garcia, the Fire Chief for the City of Benavides, approached the Ranches in Summer 2016 and made a presentation for the fire-fighting apparatus; and, when funds from the City ran short to complete the fire station, Garcia returned to the Foundation and asked for additional monies.


"Wyatt Ranches and the Wyatt Foundation have really been there for our emergency services in Duval County," Garcia stated. "In your worst hour, when you call with an emergency, these people have really played a major part to help our Duval County citizens get those emergency services."


In recent years, Wyatt Ranches donated two fully-equipped, state-of-the-art ambulances to Duval County, and made other donations to support overtime sheriff patrols and community-oriented police activities.



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Posted: Jan 5, 2017

Fire Department Asking Voters to Decide on New Truck Purchase

Better firefighting capabilities and firefighter safety are the focus with a bond ballot item that the Shelburne Fire Department wants voters to consider in the upcoming March 7 election. Selectboard members voted at their Jan. 3 meeting to include the department's request for a bond of $970,000 to purchase a quint.

The new quint truck would replace Engine 2, which is due for replacement within the Fire Department’s 20-year replacement cycle, as well as  Rescue Pumper 4 which would be sold but not replaced.

The versatility of the quint as well as its ease of use has made it appealing. As the name suggests, the truck serves five functions: pump, water tank, fire hose, aerial device, and ground ladders.

It would have an aerial device of at least 75 feet, which would allow roof access without the use of ground ladders. “For firefighter safety, I think it’s better for them to be on a ladder attached to a truck rather than one on a burning building,” Town Manager Joe Colangelo said in an interview.

“A lot of volunteer departments are going this route,” Chief Jerry Ouimet said. This is partly because the truck requires a smaller crew of four, important in a situation where there isn’t a staffed station.

“This is the way modern-day firefighting will take place,” Selectboard member John Kerr said at the board’s Dec. 20 meeting.

“It’s just more functional,” Colangelo said of the quint.

When it comes to narrow driveways, the truck would definitely be more functional. Ouimet said that it would be far easier with the multi-functional quint to address such scenarios.

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Posted: Jan 5, 2017

Newton Fire Welcomes Heavy-Duty Rescue Truck

Newton is about to get a little safer.A heavy duty rescue truck will enter service at Fire Station 2 this New Year's Day at 8 a.m., staffed by a group of hand-picked firefighters trained in technical rescue."This is a critical step forward in providing unparalleled public safety in the city," Mayor Setti Warren said, adding the department had been working towards this goal for several years.The truck will allow Newton Fire to respond to more quickly respond to high-hazard

The truck will allow Newton Fire to respond to more quickly respond to high-hazard and rescue situations without having to rely on equipment and firefighters from Boston or other communities.

The creation of the Rescue 1 unit also represents the first time since 1977 that the Newton Fire Department has added personnel, according to a memo from Chief Bruce Proia.

The department has lost 64 positions over the past four decades - with the outsourcing of ambulance services and the deactivation of several stations - but is now in the process of adding 12 firefighter spots to help staff the truck.

Proia said Resuce 1 would allow the department to better respond to incidents like the fatal Sweet Tomatoes crash in March or the 2008 Green Line accident that killed one and injured many others.

In August, firefighters helped a construction worker remove his foot from a concrete mixer at the Kessler Woods development. But Newton Fire had to wait for Boston firefighters to arrive with specialty equipment, Proia said.

"Now we'll be able to have it in the city of Newton to readily respond and we'll also be available to the entire metro fire region as well to help them out," Proia said.

Grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency helped finance the purchase of the roughly $500,000 truck, and paid to train 24 Newton firefighters in technical rescue operations.


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