The Nichols Fire Protection District, which already has one new fire engine being built now by Pierce, would like to purchase another to replace a 1996 truck, The Pioneer News reported.

In exchange for providing a bay for the county’s EMS unit, the department received funding for a new fire engine, and that engine is expected to be delivered in September, according to a Nichols Fire Protection District Facebook post.

A fire official said the district had requested state grant funds but was told that the county had been awarded millions of dollars in the American Rescue Plan Act and that should be where the request should be made, the report said.

Last year, the county appropriated $601,000 to purchase the truck through the ARPA funds. To purchase that same truck today, the cost would be $749,000, according to the report.

The fire official said the district would have to shop around to see if there are any demo trucks which might be available at a lower cost, the report said. With an annual budget of $300,000, the fire official said the district just didn’t have the funds to make such a purchase.

The district would like to purchase another fire truck to replace an older truck, help cover its own 17 square miles of territory as well as providing mutual aid for other departments, according to the report.

Identifying lettering, new tools and other equipment have recently been added to a ladder truck introduced to the Tusculum Volunteer Fire Department roster in 2022, greenevillesun.com reported.

The truck is identified by the name of the department and the number 16 — the TVFD call number, the report said.

The multi-purpose ladder truck was obtained last summer by the fire department, the report said. It has been in service since Tusculum firefighters completed driver training and other familiarization exercises on the apparatus.

With its 105-foot ladder, the Tusculum Volunteer Fire Department truck is the tallest aerial apparatus in Greene County, and with a 2,000 gallon-per-minute pump, possibly the largest pump capacity also, a fire official said in the report.

A $298,075 grant for purchase of the fire truck was announced in January 2022 by Gov. Bill Lee and the state Department of Economic and Community Development as one of 62 Community Development Block Grants statewide, according to the report.

The grant required a 16% match from the City of Tusculum, or about $48,000.

The 2003 Pierce truck was purchased for $245,000, with the remainder of the grant money used for minor repairs and equipment, the report said. It came from a fire department in Pennsylvania. The truck replaced a 1997-model truck retired from the fire department fleet.

Rockville Volunteer Fire Department hosted a dedication ceremony Saturday for its new 2022 Seagrave Fire Engine. Three minutes after the ceremony Engine 703 went into service for a report of a commercial building with an electrical burning order, wusa9.com reported.

After a traditional “push-in” housing, the apparatus was dedicated to former Fire Chief Scott E. Emmons, who committed his life to public safety, RVFD said. Several previous generations of RVFD Engine Companies were on display.

Engine 703 was purchased with donations and grant funding from the community.

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Plover Fire Department took receipt of its new Rosenbauer fire engine about two months ago, and since then, members of the department have been prepping the vehicle to hit the streets, spmetrowire.com reported. It was finally service-ready Feb. 2.

The $721,000 vehicle was a planned replacement, as fire vehicles generally carry a life expectancy of 20-25 years, a fire official said.

Engine 1 carries 1,000 gallons of water, can pump 2,000 gallons per minute, and has a rear-mount pump; one of the few in the area, the report said.

Engine 1 comes with a six-person cab with collapsible seats and a lot of custom cabinets designed to hold axes, Halligan tools, chaps, handheld lights, extension cords, and other tools, according to the report.