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Posted: Aug 2, 2016

Weather Blamed for Arrington (TN) Fire Apparatus Crash

High winds and heavy rain have been blamed for a crash involving a fire truck in Williamson County. The incident was reported after 7 p.m. Monday on Highway 96 in Arrington. Officials with the Tennessee Highway Patrol said the driver was traveling west when he encountered the severe weather.
Officials with the Tennessee Highway Patrol said the driver was traveling west when he encountered the severe weather.

The truck veered off the road, ran into a ditch and rolled over onto its side.

Troopers said the driver was hurt, but the extent of his injuries was not known.

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Posted: Aug 2, 2016

Gaylord City Council (MI) Approves Millage to Help Replace Fire Apparatus

The Otsego County Fire Department is asking for taxpayer money to buy a new truck and equipment. The department is looking to purchase a new fire pumper in order to replace its 1995 model.
To do that, the fire department is asking six municipalities -- Bagley, Chester, Dover, Hayes and Livingston townships and the City of Gaylord -- to put on the November ballot a one-year millage, levying 0.8 mills, needed to finance the new pumper.

The total amount needed is $547,538.96, according to Joe Duff, Gaylord city manager.

The Gaylord City Council voted and unanimously approved the millage amount during its meeting July 25.

"(The millage would go into effect) next year, on the millage for 2017, but we're having the vote (for the millage) now," Duff said. "The fire department comes to us, and we act as a board and determine what's in the best interest of the department. This is always how we financed (fire) equipment, so that everybody can have an opportunity to share in the cost of it."

Aside from being proactive in replacing one of two old fire trucks with old equipment, the fire department is trying to keep its insurance ratings down. Dave Duffield, Otsego County fire chief, said the insurance rating services require the fire department to have a fire truck (pumper) no older than 20 years.

"There's a company that goes around every few years and rates the fire department, the water supplies, dispatch, training, etc. Then they give us a rating from one to 10," Duffield said. "That's how your insurance for your homes and business are calculated. The better (lower) the number, the better for your policy, meaning a lower rate."

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Posted: Aug 2, 2016

Van Nuys (CA) Residents Sue City Over Planned Fire Station

Marking another legal fight over a planned Van Nuys fire station, a group of San Fernando Valley residents filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles over the project. Filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, the lawsuit challenges the environmental analysis for the 18,500-square-foot planned station at Oxnard  Street and Vesper  Avenue and asks the court to invalidate the station's approval.
This is the neighbors' second lawsuit against the city over the $20 million station. Besides the Van Nuys residents, several other groups, including the Wilmington-based Coalition for a Safe Environment, an environmental health and justice nonprofit, are also listed as petitioners in the suit.

"This isn't an appropriate place for the station," said Jeffrey Lynn, who lives about 500 feet from the planned station and is one of the residents suing the city.

Lynn argues siren noise from exiting trucks will be a nuisance and questions whether soil contamination on the site is a risk for neighbors.

The Los Angeles City Council approved the station in July despite objections from some nearby residents. At that meeting, area Councilwoman Nury Martinez argued that the site is appropriate because of the neighborhood's commercial feel. A planned 400-foot sound wall will act as a buffer for homes from the siren noise, Martinez also argued.

Supporters, including the Los Angeles Fire Department, contend the new station is needed to replace the Valley's oldest firehouse, the 1930s-era Station 39 on Sylvan Street.

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Posted: Aug 2, 2016

Quincy (IL) Fire Station Study Gets Underway

Mayor Kyle Moore said city officials are starting to narrow down the list of 13 entities that want to help design one or two fire stations and recommend the most effective locations for fire stations within Quincy. The 13 request for qualifications were opened Thursday in City Hall.
The names of interested parties won't be released until the city selects its choice to do the work.

"We'll have a couple of aldermen work with the fire administration and city engineer. Then they'll make recommendations to the Fire Aldermanic Committee and on to the City Council. That might take a month or two," Moore said.

Fire Chief Joe Henning said he's ready for a meeting on the selection process on Tuesday.

"It's definitely a good sampling from all over the country. We've got some that are local (firms) and from Chicago and other parts of the country as well. Some of them design fire stations on a regular basis and others just dabble in it," Henning said.

The notice posted in June sought "consulting architectural services for the selection of land, building design and the construction of up to two" new Quincy fire stations. At that time, Moore said it was a baby step toward doing a citywide study of fire department configurations.

Quincy currently has five fire stations, but has not built a new fire station since 1975. That station, located on 36th Street was considered the edge of town at that time. Lots of development has occurred on the east side of town since then and Henning said adjustments are needed to help equalize response times to structure fires.

Moore said there are some towns with fewer fire stations that have better response times, probably because they have tweaked fire station locations as the cities grew.

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Posted: Aug 2, 2016

Mobile Store Helps firefighters 'Shop' for Supplies

A mobile store operating 24 hours a day keeps the more than 5,000 people who are fighting the Soberanes Fire supplied with equipment. At the Cal Fire incident base at Toro Regional Park, tons of supplies come in and go out daily. Firefighters will find safety clothing, such as gloves, shirts and hard hats.
They also will find axes, sledgehammers, chain saw blades, McLeods (combination rakes and hoes) , firehose, nozzles, gasoline and office supplies.

It’s like a Costco for firefighters.

With an order form in hand, a firefighter can exchange broken tools and damaged safety clothing for new ones.

“We are drawing resources from all over the nation,” said Cpt. Matthew Brandt, a Cal Fire supply unit leader.

So far, Brandt said, the supply unit has moved more than 1 million feet of hose to the fireline. It also has gone through between 400 and 500 five-gallon gas tanks. Larger fuel tanks for bulldozers and other heavy firefighting equipment is delivered by air in cargo nets.

“It (firefighting) requires a lot of tools and a lot of fuel,” Brandt said.

Most of the supplies are coming from a cache of firefighting items in Ontario, California, one of two caches in California. The other one is in Redding. There are 12 caches throughout the United States.

The supply unit has two sides: supplies and ordering, Brandt explained. No money is exchanged. It’s all done by ordering. However, the unit does purchase products from local retailers when necessary, especially office supplies.

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