Stevens Point's Fire Department was given authorization to apply for a large equipment grant. The Finance Committee and then the city council approved going forward with an application for a grant from the Assistance to Firefighters Grants program, which is through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Mayor Mike Wiza says a grant of that size would be welcomed, and would help retire a vehicle that is expensive to maintain. "It's a 90-10 grant for a new fire truck. Those things run over $600,000 dollars. If we can get some of our tax money that's already gone on to the state and the federal government, and bring that back to Stevens Point, and we get 90% and we've got to pay 10%."

If the grant is awarded, the grant dollars would pay for most of a $600,000 fire engine and most of a $375,000 dollar fire simulation training trailer. Winning the grant would put Stevens Point taxpayers on the hook for $97,500 dollars. Wiza says that won't be a problem, since they've been budgeting to replace the old fire truck already.  "We have more than that down in our capital improvements budget for the next couple of years, I think it's 2017, maybe 2018. We've got about $350,000 dollars budgeted for a new fire truck, so we'd actually free up some more money if we're able to get that 90% grant."

For more information, view wsau.com

 

Two people have been injured in a fire that broke out in an apartment building in West Seattle, fire officials said, and then firefighters happened upon a dead body. Firefighters got the call just after noon of a fire in a second floor unit of the building in the 5400 block of Delridge Way SW. One man was engulfed in flames and an employee of the apartment building used a fire extinguisher to douse the fire, according to Sue Stangl with Seattle Fire.
- PUB DATE: 12/22/2015 3:25:03 PM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000

Two people have been injured in a fire that broke out in an apartment building in West Seattle, fire officials said, and then firefighters happened upon a dead body. Firefighters got the call just after noon of a fire in a second floor unit of the building in the 5400 block of Delridge Way SW. One man was engulfed in flames and an employee of the apartment building used a fire extinguisher to douse the fire, according to Sue Stangl with Seattle Fire.
- PUB DATE: 12/22/2015 3:25:03 PM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000

It's the season of lights, which for some, means a battle to have the best Christmas display on the block.

"Basically the weekend after Halloween we start decorating and planning out what we want to do," explained Garry Aranda.

He doesn't put lights on his house though. He is the "Clark Griswold" of firetrucks.

"There is about 60 hours of work between my wife and I," Aranda said.

Garry Aranda is a retired firefighter with South Adams County Fire and Rescue. He is now the station's fleet manager. He owns four of his own firetrucks and has been lighting them up each December for almost 30 years.

"Every year we change or add something to the truck. This year we changed the color scheme on it. We put more blue on it this year," he said.

There are about 6,500 lights on the 2015 display. They flash to the beat of holiday music that plays on the engine's speakers. Aranda drives it around the metro area spreading holiday cheer.

"If we take Santa Clause, there are times when you can't even see the road because the flashes are going off on cameras. Cars are pulling up next to us. We've even had celebrities pull up next to us," Aranda said.

"We go out through trailer parks or places we know people need stuff and start passing things out," he said.

He hands out toys, candy and other donations to low income families and children. None of them know he is coming. It is a total surprise. Aranda says the smiles on their faces make all the hours spent decorating his truck worth it.

For more information, view kdvr.com

 

A small child playing with a lighter started a fire that set off the sprinkler system at the Yakima YWCA late this morning, Yakima firefighters said. The fire was quickly extinguished, but the resulting flood of water damaged Christmas presents in a basement storage room, YWCA executive director Amy Flynn said.
- PUB DATE: 12/22/2015 2:33:23 PM - SOURCE: Yakima Herald-Republic