KME—Macomb Township (MI) Fire Department mini pumper. Ford F-550 4×4 crew cab XL cab and chassis; Ford Power Stroke 330-hp engine; Hale DSD 1,250-gpm pump; 240-gallon polypropylene water tank; 10-gallon foam cell; FoamPro 1600 single-agent foam system. Dealer: Chris Payette, Payette Sales & Service, Grosse Isle Township, MI.

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An Oklahoma fire department is making changes after someone drove off in a fire truck and led police on a chase, koco.com reported.

Friday night in Mustang (OK), firefighters had just completed their medical call and were ready to head back to the station. That’s when the suspect jumped into the fire truck and led police on a chase, the report said.

The suspect, Daniel Justin Snyder, is in jail on a $71,000 bond on charges of larceny of a motor vehicle, endangering others while eluding police, possession of controlled dangerous substances and interfering with firemen on duty, according to the report.

The fire chief said the truck holds advanced life support equipment and would be detrimental to the community if anything were to happen to the vehicle, the report said.

In response, the department is installing kill switches in all department vehicles, the report said.

An Augusta Fire Department tender rolled over Saturday, making it the second truck in the department to have a rollover accident in a week.

In both cases, the department said ‘locked up’ brakes were the reason for the crash, WRDW reports.

Saturday’s accident happened around 9:30 p.m. on Old Waynesboro Road at Neely Road.

Tender 12 was responding to a call along with an engine when it went off the left side of the road and overturned. The driver was taken to the hospital where he was treated and released.

The first crash happened on Monday when a ladder truck was responding to a call. The truck failed to negotiate the turn onto Interstate 20 from Washington Road.

Matthew Verrilli
Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
(TNS)

Jan. 23—TOLLAND — Most of the equipment has been moved out of Fire Station 340 in preparation for demolition of the current station and the construction of a new facility.

The Firehouse Subcommittee met Thursday to provide updates to the timeline and budget for the new firehouse on Gehring Road.

“It has certainly been a struggle for us, but establishing the subcommittee and having people work closer together is helping the project be more closely monitored and completed in a timely fashion,” Steve Jones, acting chairman of the Firehouse Subcommittee, said.

Last month, the town awarded the bid for the Station 340 project to Lawrence Brunoli Inc. for $2.26 million.

The current budget for the project is just over $3 million, which is part of $5 million that was approved in a referendum in May 2021.

The additional money for the project will be used as a contingency, and anything left over will be directed toward renovating Station 440 on Plains Road.

“Hopefully we put in a strong bumper of about 20% for contingency,” Jones said.

The new facility will include an additional bay and updated compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

During the meeting, town officials said that all materials have been cleared from Station 340, with the exception of one fire truck, which is expected to be moved out this week.

A trailer has also been moved on site and fencing has been put up around the location as the project moves forward.

Jones said that with the Station 340 project under way, it will likely be another one or two years before the town revisits plans to renovate Fire Station 440, as well as Fire Station 140 on Crystal Lake Road.

“For the time being, the 140 foundation is still in good condition and can be utilized to the fullest extent for public safety needs,” Jones said.

The goal is to raze the current Station 340 building by mid-spring and begin construction on the new building as soon as May.

Town officials expect construction to be complete by the end of this year or March 2024 at the latest.

Matthew covers Stafford and Tolland for the Journal Inquirer.

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To fill a service gap in the northeastern part of the county, Calloway County Fire-Rescue is in the process of building its 13th station, murrayledger.com reported.

A Calloway County fire official said the station, which is around the 5000 block of Faxon Road about two miles east of KY 1346/Liberty Road, will be called the Center Ridge station and will be equipped with a pumper truck, tanker truck, brush truck and a boat, the report said.

Currently, the steel frame has been erected, and when the station is completed and staffed, its location should greatly improve the Insurance Rating Office (ISO) fire rating for homes in that area near Kentucky Lake, the report said. ISO fire ratings are assigned on a scale from 1 to 10, and higher ratings typically mean higher homeowners insurance premiums.

The fire official said Calloway County Fire-Rescue was fortunate to receive the property through a donation, but the organization has been trying to collect donations to help offset the cost of the building, the report said. Most of the equipment that will go into the building has already been purchased, according to the report.

The original construction budget for the station was $100,000, but with supply chain issues and inflation that started during the pandemic, that number has ballooned to $160,000, the report said.

The fire official said anyone wanting to donate toward the station’s construction may send a check to Calloway County-Fire Rescue, P.O. Box 612, with a letter in the envelope stating the purpose or “Station 13” written on the memo line of the check. The station has raised about $30,000 for the building’s construction since 2019, about half of which came from a gun raffle, the report said.