“She said she heard the sirens but didn’t see the ambulance, which doesn’t surprise me,” city police patrolman Gary Vannatta said. “You hear sirens all over downtown. They bounce off buildings. It can be, ‘Where the heck did that come from?’ ”

Video of the crash captured by a bank indicates the ambulance didn’t slow down.

Motorists are legally required to yield to emergency vehicles.

“Indiana law allows people operating an emergency motor vehicle to violate traffic laws – go the wrong way on a one-way street, run stop signs and run red lights,” Vannatta said. “But that doesn’t take away the fact we still have what they call ‘due regard.’ We have to give people time and the opportunity to yield to you.”

The officer concluded that the primary cause of the crash was the woman’s failure to yield. The secondary cause was the ambulance’s disregard of the red light. “She did have an obligation to yield, but he also had an obligation to slow down and drive with due regard,” Vannatta said. “Take either of those factors out of the equation and the crash doesn’t occur.”

Located in the 200 block of Olive Street, the new Fire Station Four will include state-of-the art facilities and outdoor areas for exercise.

“It's the first Silver LEED Certified building the city of South Bend has ever done, so that's an important feature of this project. We're very proud to be representing the city in that way," said Jeffrey Ballard, vice president of Dansch Harner Associates.

Bidding for the project's construction is set to take place early September with construction to follow soon after. 

A 2014 gift from the Texas Forest Service to the city's fire department of a brush truck capable of wading its four-wheel drive into otherwise inaccessible areas helps to extend its firefighting reach.

The city on Tuesday signed an agreement with the Texas Forest Service as part of its mutual aid protection program, which gave rise to the city's own Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

Fire Chief Anne Huff and other department members presented the plan Tuesday to City Council, showing 16 planning areas within the city limits that outline the affected areas.

Huff said at least 17,000 acres abut wildlands within the 16 separate areas ranging from industrial areas on the south to the Big Thicket on the north and wooded areas on the west.

"We're taking a close look at what we have and where," she told council members.

Shawnee firefighters had the demo ladder setup at the Aldridge building in downtown Shawnee.Shawnee Fire Chief Dru Tischer said the ladder — 107 feet tall — was in town for crews to evaluate.“We are hoping to order one of these new aerials in the very near future and have seen them at the factory but wanted to see how the increased reach offered by this aerial will effect operations on actual occupancies within our response area,” Tischer said.“The increased 32 feet of reach this aerial provides over our current unit is quite stunning.”For the first time, crews would be able to reach top floor of the Aldridge and reach areas at many other occupancies that have not been possible in the past.This type of reach on an apparatus with a single rear axle is relatively new in the fire service, he said.The department's current ladder is 75 feet tall, which has been the maximum reach made on a single axle until about three years ago.

The engine truck is a rescue pumper, and responds to fire calls, motor vehicle crashes and all “high-priority” medical calls, Grenno said.The truck was purchased from Ocala, Fla.-based E-ONE, officials said. It carries the Jaws of Life equipment to rescue people who are trapped inside a vehicle, and it has advanced life support equipment such as cardiac monitors and medical equipment, Grenno said.“It’s a great truck. It’s a big truck and it’s going to serve all of our needs for the next 20 years,” the fire chief said, adding that the truck is being paid for with the ambulance revolving account, or insurance monies received by the department when patients are transported to the hospital.On Wednesday, Whitman firefighters/paramedics Steve Foster, Pat Travers, Fire Lt. Al Cunningham and Brian Trefry unveiled the new truck to the newspaper.Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Feeney said the new truck came in handy to help battle a raging, 7-alarm blaze that engulfed a wooden warehouse building in Brockton on July 14. Whitman was among a dozen area towns that provided mutual aid to Brockton for that blaze.