Police in Tacoma arrested a woman for committing an act of vandalism that displaced nearly half of an apartment building on Thursday. According to the Tacoma Police Department (TPD), the 42-year-old suspect vandalized a fire standpipe in the apartment stairway, which caused about $2 million dollars’ worth in water damage.
- PUB DATE: 3/11/2023 5:58:30 PM - SOURCE: KCPQ-TV FOX 13 Tacoma

Coweta is already building a new fire station, but it won’t be done until late 2024, and that’s not soon enough.

Firefighters have been reporting illnesses like headaches and allergic reactions. An environmental assessment of the facility showed elevated levels of mold that were so high firefighters were advised to limit their exposure to the facility.

So now, the department is using rooms at a nearby hotel for overnights. It hopes to develop an interim plan that will allow the firehouse to be used once again until the new one is constructed.

Officials from the McAdoo Fire Company said a car crashed into one of its brush trucks while responding to an earlier crash on Friday, pahomepage.com reported.

Officials said first responders were dispatched to a crash near the I-81 Exit 138 off-ramp at 5:41 p.m. Friday, the report said.

While directing traffic for the crash, McAdoo fire officials say someone driving on the interstate crashed into the back of their truck, according to the report.

Legislation to fund aerial fire suppression assistance for small and rural fire departments passed the state House Wednesday. “Listening to some of the people here at my district, they have always been afraid to order aircraft because of that dollar amount,” said Grant County Fire District 7 Chief Chris Baker.
- PUB DATE: 3/11/2023 4:22:00 AM - SOURCE: Columbia Basin Herald

Maddie Pfeifer
Corvallis Gazette-Times, Ore.
(TNS)

Mar. 9—A little rain didn’t stop the Corvallis Fire Department from celebrating its newest fire engine.

Firefighters and city representatives gathered at the downtown station Thursday, March 9 to reflect on the newest apparatus which combines the past, present and future all at once.

“It’s definitely exciting,” Fire Chief Ben Janes said. “It’s great for the community and for our firefighters to work on.”

The bell

The new engine is especially meaningful since it will feature a bell — something that all engines used to have before sirens were added.

Retired Captain Bill Albright spoke on the history and legacy of the bell to fire departments. Albright was hired as a volunteer firefighter in 1962 and hired full time in 1964 before retiring in 1991. Albright’s father was also a firefighter with CFD.

Albright said the bell did what the sirens do today.

“They rang the bell to let the community know they were on the way,” he said.

He added that as time went on, the bell became more of a symbolic item, with crews ringing the bell in memory of firefighters who died.

While the new fire engine’s bell isn’t replacing sirens, it will serve an important purpose going forward. Janes said firefighters who retire from the Fire Department can choose to have their name engraved on the bell of the engine they worked on.

Pushing it in

Instead of driving the engine into the apparatus bay, the firefighters literally pushed it in. This is a nod to firefighters physically pushing their horse-drawn engines into storage because the horses couldn’t back-in.

“In honor of those early crews, we’re going to push it into the bay,” Janes said.

All firefighters present gathered together and pushed the engine while Albright sat in the cab.

Onlookers cheered as the fire personnel made the effort look easy.

Looking to the future

The new engine features the bell from the past but will also hopefully aid crews for years to come.

Sustainability is important for the Fire Department and its future, Janes said, and the new vehicle has a feature where it will shut down its motor whenever it can to cut down on emissions.

“When we build the engines, we try to think years ahead,” Janes said. “It’s built with the future in mind.”

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Maddie Pfeifer covers public safety for Mid-Valley Media. She can be contacted at 541-812-6091 or Madison.Pfeifer@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter via @maddiepfeifer_

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