A plan to replace the Marshall Fire Department’s existing ladder truck and other firefighting equipment received support from Lyon County last week. County commissioners approved up to $200,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding to help pay for the truck and two skid units for fighting grass fires, MarshallIndependent.com reported.

The fire department currently has a 1994 aerial ladder truck, which is planned to be replaced in 2025, the report said.

In October, the Marshall City Council approved a bid proposal for a new ladder truck at $1.47 million, the report said.

Besides the ARPA funding request, the fire department was also seeking other funding sources, like an American Firefighters Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), according to the report.

The fire department is also replacing two skid units used for fighting grass or brush fires. The skid units mainly get used outside of the city of Marshall, the report said. The existing units were nearly 30 years old. The Marshall Fire Department had received a bid for new skid units at $32,850, according to the report.

Commissioners voted to approve the request of up to $200,000 in funding for the fire truck and skid units, the report said.

Voter’s approved the purchase of LeRoy (NY) Fire Department’s new Ladder 65 last night, the fire department announced on its Facebook page.

“This fire truck will provide safety to our community for many years to come. Thank you to all our members who worked hundreds of hours on this project. Thank you to all the voters and supporters of our department,” the department said via Facebook.

The measure passed 133-99, according to the department.

By Edzel Butac

Joint Base Lewis-McChord Public Affairs

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. – A new Yakima Training Center fire station opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Dec. 9, completing one of the oldest military construction projects on record – dating back to September 2000, according to a press release.

“With this new station, it allows us to have all fire department operations underneath one building,” said Christopher Dykstra, YTC Fire Chief. “Previously, we were in three different buildings, and now all administrative activities and responses will be operating under one facility. This will improve our response capability and accommodate the full emergency response fleet under one central location. While the old station has served multiple generations of personnel for many years, the time had come to build a new home.”

The new facility will be able to house 13 firefighters and all department apparatuses, and will serve not only YTC, but the surrounding communities as well, according to Dykstra.

Lieutenant Colonel Tim Horn, YTC Garrison commander, is pleased with the new facility in more ways than one.

“The new station provides the YTC Fire and Emergency Services a much-needed upgrade in quality of life and safety,” said Horn. “The fire department will be able to house all their apparatuses in one facility, with all the firefighters and chiefs under one roof and provide capabilities, such as an alternate 911-dispatch site and plenty of room for families to visit their firefighters during their extended overnight duty hours.”

The new fire station will also benefit local communities because it increases the efficiency and capability of YTC to support its mutual aid agreements with neighboring emergency response departments during emergencies that require more firefighting resources than a single agency or community can provide, added Horn.

The project was 22 years in the making, and the length of time it took to complete was not lost on the installation commander.

“Luckily for me, I took command of YTC in the final stages of construction, but there have been many commanders, directors, and chiefs that have been promoting this project for over two decades,” said Horn. “But inevitably, the project gets completed, and today, we are the beneficiaries of those past efforts.”

The previous fire station was built in 1952 and has reached its sustainable life and will be demolished in the future.

Scott Shumaker
East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Ariz.)
(TNS)

Dec. 14—Work on a $44 million, 50,000-square-foot combined police and fire station at the northeast corner of Brown and Power Roads — dubbed the Northeast Public Safety Facility — got underway this month as City Council approved a construction contract and celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony earlier this month.

When completed, the facility will include four fire apparatus bays, room for two fire crews, one ambulance crew, and one battalion crew.

The police side will be able to accommodate up to 150 police officers with locker rooms, offices, briefing rooms and a holding area for processing suspects before transport.

Final design work on the project continues and construction is slated to begin in the spring, with an estimated completion date in late 2024.

The police and fire stations will share a lobby, community rooms and gym in the center of the facility, but will occupy separate wings of the building.

Based on its location, City Manager Chris Brady predicted that the new station would have a “significant impact” on emergency response times in this part of east Mesa and have a “trickle effect” on times throughout the city.

Brady said the site of the new station was identified during an analysis of repose times to identify slow spots.

The analysis showed that many of the hot spots for slower-than-target response times were concentrated in east Mesa.

In remarks before the groundbreaking, Mesa Police Chief Ken Cost described the current challenges for response times in this part of the city.

“We have officers right now that are responding to Las Sendas and then might have to go all the way down to Eastmark, and back and forth,” Cost said. “Minutes and seconds matter and … this substation is going to be quite a big deal for both District 5 and 6.”

City Engineer Beth Huning told Council in a study session last month that the city identified a need for police and fire in the same area, and that building a combined facility helped save money by maximizing shared assets like parking and community rooms.

Due to inflationary pressures affecting all city projects, costs for the original 57,000 square foot building planned for the 8-acre site came in $11 million above the $37 million authorized by the 2018 bond package that funds the facility.

The city’s architects revised the designs, trimming about 6,000 square feet and $5 million from the plans without compromising functionality, Brady said.

The project is still $6.8 million over the 2018 budget, so the city is covering the difference from $10 million set aside in this year’s budget for “construction inflation overrun.”

“This was so important from a public safety standpoint, that of the $10 million, we needed to dedicate a significant portion to deliver the project,” Brady said.

“It’s going to improve our response and the efficiency of the fire department tremendously… and we need to get this delivered. We need to get this built,” he added.

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(c)2022 East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Ariz.)

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Multiple departments battled a massive fire in Dillsboro, Indiana, Thursday evening. According to officials, the fire started around 4:35 p.m. on U.S. 50 at Laughery Valley AG, a farming co-op. Area residents said the plant usually closes around 4:30 every day. More than 10 fire departments have responded to the scene.
- PUB DATE: 12/16/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLWT-TV NBC 5 Cincinnati