A woman estimated to be around 40 years old was taken from the scene and kept under observation for smoke inhalation as responders fought back a house fire in the 1000 block of West Main Street behind the Possibilities Pregnancy Center in Centralia Sunday morning. At about 11:20 a.m., the Riverside Fire Authority responded to a call about the home, which was nearly fully engulfed by their arrival.
- PUB DATE: 12/5/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Chronicle

By Alan M. Petrillo

WEB EXCLUSIVE

Somerdale (NJ) Fire Department found it needed to replace a 14-year-old rescue-pumper with a rig that was a multi-use piece of apparatus because of the growing community that the department serves. It’s previous rescue-pumper was a Ferrara Fire Apparatus vehicle, so the department felt very comfortable going back to Ferrara to have it build its new multi-functional rescue-pumper.

Brian Barkoff, Somerdale’s chief, says Somerdale is a 1.5-square mile town that’s a suburb of Philadelphia with a population of 6,000. “We’re primarily a bedroom community with a commercial area that has a shopping mall, theaters and retail businesses, along with a small industrial park,” Barkoff says. “We have 40 volunteer firefighters responding out of one station with a Ferrara engine and quint, our new rescue-pumper, and an air/light truck. We’re on automatic mutual aid for every structure fire in a six-square mile area with a 21,500 population.”

Steve Shatzel, project manager for Firefighter One Apparatus, which sold the vehicle to Somerdale, says the rescue-pumper is built on a Cinder chassis and cab with seating for six firefighters, five of them in SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus) seats. He notes that the rig is powered by a 450-horsepower (hp) Cummins L9 diesel engine and an Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission, and has a Hale Qmax 2,000-gallon per minute (gpm) pump, and a 500-gallon polypropylene water tank. Wheelbase on the rescue-pumper is 205 inches, overall length is 33 feet 11-3/4-inches, and overall height is 9 feet 5-1/4-inches.

Barkoff notes that the department wanted to increase the usability of its new rescue-pumper, so it added more preconnected hosed Holmatro hydraulic rescue tools to the rig. “In the R1 compartment, we have three slide-out trays, one with four Holmatro rams and a mini-cutter, a second one with two hydraulic cutters and one spreader, and on the third slide-out tray, a gasoline-drive hydraulic pump,” he says. “Two hydraulic hose reels are located in the coffin compartment above the R1 compartment and feed their hydraulic hoses down into the top of the compartment.̶

Horry County Fire Rescue held a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new fire station Thursday, WPDE.com reported. It’s located at 120 Burcale Road in the Forestbrook area of Myrtle Beach.

This is the third fire station the department has broken ground on in the last two weeks, the report said. The other two are at 2291 Highway 31 E. in Longs and 4886 Highway 905 in Conway.

Construction is taking place over the coming months on the new stations. They hope to have them up and running by 2024, according to the report.

The Lowndes County Fire Department will apply for a federal Assistance to Firefighters grant to purchase a $500,000 tanker and pumper fire truck to replace one of the department’s older tanker vehicles, cdispatch.com reported.

A county fire official presented the idea to the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors at its regular meeting Wednesday before going through with the application process, the report said. Once the grant application is started, the fire official will know what the county match would be in the event the grant is awarded.

The new truck will carry up to 3,000 gallons of water and pump up to 1,250 gallons per minute, the report said. The current truck is becoming more expensive to fix as new parts become scarce and the metal lining of the water tank has begun to thin out, according to the report.

This has caused leaks and ultimately rusted other areas of the truck, causing further damage, according to the report. But it may take up to two years before the department is awarded any money should it receive the grant, the fire official said.

New Facility and Equipment – a Critical Part of BHM’s Commitment to Safety

BIRMINGHAM, AL (November 29, 2022) – A new Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) station and new ARFF trucks were unveiled to the community today at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. The new facility and trucks, together with First Responders, are the cornerstone of BHM’s emergency readiness.

At a ribbon-cutting and unveiling ceremony this afternoon, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin joined Board members of the Birmingham Airport Authority, project contractors, architects, Birmingham Fire and Rescue, and the airport staff to celebrate the completion of this major project.

Similar to other fire stations in Birmingham and across the U.S., the ARFF station is home base for the men and women who will respond to emergencies. In this case, they are uniquely positioned and specially trained to save lives and property should an aircraft incident or other emergency happen at the airport. AT BHM, ARFF services are provided by Birmingham Fire and Rescue. These emergency responders live at the station when they are on-duty.

“Our commitment to safety at BHM is second to none,” said Darlene Wilson, Board Chair of the Birmingham Airport Authority. “This new building is a testament to the way we take care of the community, visitors, tenants, and those who are out there doing the hard work every day,” said Wilson.

The ARFF Station
Here are some of the highlights of the new ARFF station:
• Building is 17,548 Sq feet
• Total cost: $12.4 Million with 78% of project funded through federal grants
• Four bays to house ARFF trucks and equipment
• Sleeping quarters for 7
• Men’s and Women’s locker rooms
• Kitchen and dining area
• Laundry room
• Watch room which allows those on duty an unobstructed view of the airfield
• Training and exercise rooms
• PPE storage
• Gear wash/drying and decontamination room

The ARFF Station Project
The new ARFF station was designed by Architect Clay Dorsey of Birmingham. It was built by Construction Works, Inc. (CWI), a general contractor based in Atlanta. Both of these companies are minority owned and are DBE certified. DBE stands for Disadvantage Business Enterprise which is a federal designation that was established to help traditionally disadvantaged businesses compete for major transportation projects. This represents a milestone at BHM in terms of the level of minority participation in a major project. But it’s no accident. Members of the Birmingham Airport Authority Board are continually striving to encourage minority and DBE participation in construction projects.

“We couldn’t be more proud of the way this project came together and the diligent work that was done by these companies,” said Wilson. “The airport continues to be an economic driver in this community, offering opportunities for businesses large and small.”

The ARFF Trucks
The Birmingham Airport Authority has purchased two new fire trucks that will be housed in the ARFF station.

The 6×6 Rosenbauer Panther:
• Total cost – $895,184
• 85% of the total cost was funded through federal grants
• Height – 12’4”, Width – 10’, Length – 33’5”
• Weight – 50,000+ pounds
• On board foam testing system
• Roof mounted Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) camera system; pan and tilt
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