Arlington County’s new Fire Station No. 8 is officially in service, celebrated with a grand opening Saturday, April 26, that reflected the inspiring story of the men who created the company in service to its community in the historic Langston Boulevard corridor.
Founded in 1918 as the Halls Hill Volunteer Fire Department in a segregated Black neighborhood, Fire Station 8 remained for decades the only Arlington, Virginia, station staffed exclusively by Black firefighters, even after the firemen became paid members of the Arlington County Fire Department in 1951.
This is the latest Fire Station 8 facility located at or near 4845 Langston Boulevard (formerly Lee Highway).
Fire Station 8. (Source: City of Arlington, Virginia)
Saturday’s ceremony (video) took place in the new station’s apparatus bay, with remarks by County Board Chairman Takis Karantonis; Fire Chief David Povlitz; Department of Environmental Services Director Greg Emanuel; former County Board member Libby Garvey; Fire Station 8 Task Force Chair Noah Simon; Delegate Patrick Hope; John M. Langston Citizens Association President Wilma Jones; and Mercedes Clark Baker, daughter of former Fire Captain Alfred W. Clark.
Tributes were paid to the last living member of the first paid Fire Station 8 team, honored guest Hartman Reed; and the last station volunteer firefighter, honored guest Jerome Smith, for their courage and commitment to the Halls Hill community. Also saluted were retired first responders and the families of many others who served at the station over the decades.
A popular notion holds that Arlington’s Fire Station 8 was the first officially Black-run and Black-operated fire station south of the Mason-Dixon line. The Arlington County Fire Department and Fire Station 8 were integrated by early 1963.
Saturday’s event also included an open house and family activities, along with tours of the station and its powerful historical exhibit.
The three-story, award-winning state-of-the-art fire station features a wide four-door apparatus bay, a decontamination zone, and a pharmacy room.
As Arlington’s first fire station to incorporate many of the county’s sustainability goals, it includes an underground stormwater vault, a green vegetated roof, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and 57 solar panels on the roof to help reduce demands on the local energy grid.
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Posted: Apr 29, 2025
Lubbock Fire Rescue announced recently that it has placed in service a new helmet and a newly dedicated blocker truck for roadway incidents, everythinglubbock.com reported.
Lubbuck Fire Rescue’s new roadway incident helmet. (Source: Lubbock Fire Rescue)
The department will use a helmet with foam on the inside, like what skateboarders and motorcyclists wear, for roadway incidents.
The rig, a re-purposed pumper given a second life with LFR, has been retrofitted with directional lighting, additional LED lighting, and a lighted sign board, the report said.
The blocker truck will provide an additional layer of safety for first responders working on roadways during emergency incidents.
The department made a video (above) about the reason behind the new helmet and blocker truck.
“January 11, 2020, was a tragic day for Lubbock Fire Rescue and the Lubbock Police Department—one that brought important lessons for our department,” LFR said in a Facebook post. This informational video highlights key initiatives developed by the Roadway Safety Committee, including:
- Roadway Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
- Updated Response Packages for Roadway Incidents
- Our new Blocker Program — the latest addition, going into service in the coming weeks
The post Lubbock (TX) FR Places New Helmet, Blocker Truck In Service for Roadway Incidents appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.
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