Richmond-based Fire Protection Equipment Co. on Wednesday repossessed the self-contained breathing apparatus it sold to the city earlier this year because "the invoices had yet to be reconciled," said Deputy Fire Chief Brian Sturdivant. "They made a business decision to repossess until the invoices are reconciled," he said.

The nearly $400,000 contract with Fire Protection Equipment, which was to have been paid for through a federal grant, also included training, Sturdivant said.

The apparatus, which enables firefighters "to navigate through smoky environments," he said, "had yet to go live with actually placing them in service. We were working through the training component." A rumor that circulated on Thursday that some fire trucks also had been repossessed was "not true from what I understand," Sturdivant said.

The repossession followed news that the Central Virginia Waste Management Authority is threatening to suspend trash and recycling collections in Petersburg unless the city makes its first full monthly payment since May and offers a plan to repay the more than $600,000 it owes to the authority by Friday, Aug. 19.

Both revelations, and other reports of city departments unable to obtain operating supplies or losing employees because of pay cuts, seemed to confirm a prediction made by Virginia Secretary of Finance Richard D. Brown during a presentation to City Council on Aug. 3. Brown reported the findings of a team of state auditors and financial consultants who are helping Petersburg sort out its financial problems.

The team had found that as of June 30, the city had an estimated total of about $18.8 million in unpaid bills -- about $4.1 million in funds owed by various city departments to each other, and about $14.7 million owed to outside entities.

Firefighters use the driptorches to consume fuel ahead of the main fire, strengthening the control line. Doyen said the chapter usually has about five to six volunteers during controlled burns but noted that assistance from the fire department is always beneficial.

The remnant prairie at the Audubon Trails Nature Center is burned about every three to four years. Doyen and Wilkinson said that chapter members must burn sometimes in the fall and sometimes in the spring.

A fire station in Breckenridge, Colorado, was evacuated after a woman went there to dispose of a box of World War II-era hand grenades and bazooka rounds, according to a report.

Breckenridge police chief Dennis McLaughlin said the woman contacted police saying she had some old ammunition to dispose of. Officers directed her to the fire station, where they often collect unwanted bullets. Officials were surprised when the woman opened her trunk to reveal a small cache of antique explosives she had received from her grandfather.

More than 275 people attended a recent dedication ceremony for the newest fire station in Kennewick, Washington.

The fire department’s goal is to respond to emergency medical calls in four minutes and fires in five minutes. But until the opening of Fire Station 5 Monday, travel time to many local areas was closer to eight.

The 12,500-square-foot station fire station has living quarters for six and space to park three to four fire and emergency vehicles. It reportedly cost $3.775M.

The new station has polished concrete floors, long-lasting LED lights, and a low-water garden that the Benton County Conservation District helped install. There iss also a community classroom that the residents can use for meetings of up to 15 people.

“We’re trying to build a station we can carry into the future,” said Neil Hines, operations chief for the Kennewick Fire Department.