Bristol, Tennessee leaders approved next year’s 99 million dollar budget Tuesday night, allowing construction to begin on a new sub station near the Pinnacle shopping complex and Bristol Regional Medical Center.

The plan is to build a station on vacant land near National College.

Bristol, Tennessee Fire Chief Bob Barnes said they are one of the only stations in the state of Tennessee that runs fire and EMS calls. Right now it would take them about 8 minutes to respond to the Pinnacle complex area. The closest station is located on 17th street.

Barnes hopes with the construction of a new fire station, they can cut response times down anywhere from to two to five minutes.

Dr. Mark Woodard at Bristol Regional Medical Center works with Bristol paramedics daily, and said they are seeing more accidents that occur close to the hospital due to the boom in business and development. He said the new fire station would be a great asset to the hospital.

The old station, built in the 1960s on Depot Street near the town office, had been in really bad shape.

Because of holes, the station would get flooded when it rained. This led to a black mold problem that couldn’t be remediated, he said.

Princeton’s selectmen applied for a grant to pay for a new station, but it was pulled at the last minute, said Selectman Jason Theriault.

The town set aside $100,000 a year for five years to pay for the $500,000 new station, he said.

The new facility measures 50 feet by 85 feet and features three bays in the front plus additional storage behind those bays. All of the fire department’s five trucks fit nicely, Ramsdell said.

Task Force Tips invested $2.6 million to renovate a 50,000-square-foot facility at 4201 Montdale Park Drive in the Montdale Business Park in Valparaiso, which will serve as the new home for its direct subsidiary AMKUS Rescue Tools. Located less than one mile from Task Force Tips’ 168,000-square-foot facility, both companies will improve their research and development activities by operating in close proximity and will provide higher-quality products to emergency responders worldwide.

AMKUS Rescue Tools completed its relocation just last month and now bases all of its operations in Indiana. While AMKUS Rescue Systems will maintain its own unique identity, distribution network, field managers and marketing message, it will share Task Force Tips’ extensive research, development and new product innovation resources. With their growth, both companies share a commitment to providing world-class service and support to emergency service professionals around the globe.

Task Force Tips currently employs 225 Indiana employees, which now includes 10 team members previously based at AMKUS Rescue Tools' facility in Illinois. To reach its goal of creating 20 new Indiana-based jobs, AMKUS will add an additional 10 jobs and is currently hiring for production, assembly and shipping positions. These positions are expected on average to pay 25 percent more than the state average wage. Interested applicants may search for open opportunities at www.tft.com.

The $465,759 fire truck was open for a tour and pictures at the trustees’ meeting, but was then heading to Cleveland to be outfitted with equipment, said Fire Chief Bruce Moritz. The truck should be in service at Station 1 in Walbridge later this month.

Some new features include Class A foam capabilities, an air priming system and storage for helmets. It also carries 1,500 gallons of water, compared to 1,000 gallons of water for the old truck. “We have got more water on it, for the rural end,” Moritz said.

Capt. Chad Klavinger said the truck has a tight turn radius. It’s able to do a figure 8 in the small Walbridge fire station parking lot.

The trustees voted in September to buy the All American fire truck from Sutphen Fire Truck Manufacturer. It replaces a 20-year-old engine.

Moritz said that truck will still be used for large fires and as backup.

East Alton Fire Chief Rodney Palmer said 20 years is generally a full life of any fire apparatus. Currently the fire department has a two-vehicle response system, a pumper truck and a rescue truck. The new pumper would condense the two vehicles in to one.

Chief Palmer told the Big Z that condensing down to one truck will be safer and cheaper.