City councilors, in a unanimous vote Thursday, approved spending an additional $500,000 to build a new fire station in north Augusta. The additional money, on top of the $3.6 million initially budgeted and approved by voters for the station, is needed to put steel pilings extending 60 feet down through the clay soil under the site to support the weight of the new station and the firetrucks it will hold.

A $1.3 million 2016 Ferrara fire truck rolled into Carmel Thursday evening for much fanfare. The vehicle, which replaces a 2000 American LaFrance truck, is now the premier firefighting vehicle of the Carmel Fire Department. Fire Chief Vincent Ruggiero said the new tower ladder vehicle is equipped with a 100-foot rear mount ladder, a 2,000 gallon-per-minute pumper and a 400-gallon tank.  He said the truck will be able to handle “any type of fire anywhere within the region.”