The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) has partnered with Anheuser-Busch for the fifth year to provide canned drinking water to volunteer fire departments that respond to wildfires. The Emergency Drinking Water for Wildland Firefighters program will provide 1.5 million cans of clean drinking water to departments in 2023 to help them be ready for wildfires and other long incidents.

Hydration is critical to keep firefighters at their best during wildfire response and protect them from heat-related illness and injury. The water donation program helps departments meet this need while allowing them to save critical funds for other resources and necessities. The program is an expansion of Anheuser-Busch’s longstanding tradition of providing emergency drinking water and supplies for disaster relief efforts. Since partnering with the NVFC in 2019, Anheuser-Busch has distributed 6.5 million cans of water to more than 1,400 departments across nearly all 50 states.

To apply for the emergency drinking water, departments must be located in the U.S., annually respond to wildfires, be over 50 percent volunteer, and serve a population of 25,000 or less. Departments in declared emergencies due to wildfire will also be able to request water outside of the application period to help with their immediate wildfire response needs.

The general application period is open through March 31. Visit www.nvfc.org/water to apply and learn more about the program.

About Anheuser-Busch

At Anheuser-Busch, our purpose is to create a future with more cheers. We are always looking to serve up new ways to meet life’s moments, dream big to move our industry forward, and make a meaningful impact in the world. We hope to build a future that everyone can celebrate, and everyone can share. For more than 160 years, Anheuser-Busch has carried on a legacy of brewing great-tasting, high-quality beers that have satisfied beer drinkers for generations. Today, we own and operate more than 120 facilities, including breweries, wholesaler distribution centers, agricultural facilities and packaging plants, and have more than 19,000 colleagues across the United States. We are home to several of America’s most loved beer brands, including Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob ULTRA and Stella Artois, as well as a number of regional brands that provide beer drinkers with a choice of the best-tasting craft beers in the industry. From responsible drinking programs and emergency drinking water donations to industry-leading sustainability efforts, we are guided by our unwavering commitment to supporting the communities we call home. For more information, visit http://www.anheuser-busch.com/or follow Anheuser-Busch on LinkedIn, Twitter,

The city of Camanche (IA) made the following announcement on its Facebook page March 9:

Vehicles for Sale

The City of Camanche is accepting sealed bids for the following truck:

Ladder Truck – 1978 Seagrave 50-foot Tele-Squirt. This truck currently has 27,836 miles and 1348 hours. It has 1250 GPM pump and 500-gallon tank. All pump and ladder certifications are current. Well maintained and has all the original manuals and paperwork.

Sealed bids may be submitted to the Office of the City Clerk, 818 7th Avenue, Camanche, IA 52730 through 4:00 PM on April 18th, 2023 and will be opened and considered at the city council meeting at 6:00 PM that evening. The trucks may be inspected at the Camanche Fire Department, 720 9th Avenue, Camanche, Iowa 52730 M-F, 7:00-3:30. Vehicles are sold “as is” with no warranty expressed or implied. The successful bidder must make payment in full within 7 days of the notice of bid acceptance. The City reserves the right to reject any and all bids.

The High Springs Fire Department held a push-in ceremony for its two new fire trucks Tuesday, wcjb.com reported.

The new Heavy Rescue 29 replaces Squad 29, a 2006 Kenworth commercial cab light rescue unit, the report said. The truck will respond to a wider range of calls including technical rescues, vehicle accidents, fires, and medical emergencies.

The new engine 29 replaces a 2012 commercial cab pumper, according to the report.

Both trucks are a combined $1.4 million investment that will last 15 to 20 years, the report said.

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

Mar. 13—WINDSOR LOCKS — The town is holding a public hearing and a special town meeting Thursday on replacement of a fire truck that was damaged in an accident on Interstate 91 in January.

The town meeting will vote to set a referendum on the expenditure, to be held on March 30, between noon and 8 p.m.

The cost of the new truck is estimated to be $850,000. Some parts of the damaged truck will be used to build the new one.

• Fire Truck Struck on I-91S in Windsor Locks (CT)

The cost will include purchasing a new truck cab and chassis, removing the body and equipment from the damaged truck, and putting it on the new cab and chassis.

Grant money from the town’s share of federal pandemic relief funds will be used to make the purchase. Insurance is expected to reimburse $455,000 of the cost.

The damaged truck, less than three years old, was struck Jan. 4 by a vehicle as it was parked in the right and right-center lanes of I-91 near Exit 38. Firefighters were cleaning up a prior crash in the area at the time.

Around 4 a.m. that morning, the unoccupied truck was struck in the front end by an SUV, causing enough damage for it to be deemed totaled by the town’s insurance company.

For breaking news and happenings in North Central Connecticut, follow Matthew Knox on Twitter: @MatthewPKnoxJI, and Facebook: Matthew P. Knox JI.

___

(c)2023 Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.

Visit Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn. at www.journalinquirer.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Alex Powers
Albany Democrat-Herald, Ore.
(TNS)

Mar. 13—When a Lebanon fire truck rolls up to a burning building, career professionals and unpaid volunteers step off the vehicle.

And the tax district undergirding the department that responds to medical crises and burning buildings can’t find enough of either.

At Lebanon Fire District, a decline in reimbursement for ambulance calls is coinciding with a decline in volunteers. Meanwhile, emergency calls generally have increased as the city’s population verges toward 20,000.

• Valentine’s Day Groundbreaking for New $16M Lebanon (OR) Fire Station 31

“And that’s not sustainable,” said Joe Rodondi, the district’s fire chief.

Adding even more insult, Rodondi and other advocates argue, relatively small governments were overlooked in federal pandemic response.

Hundreds of billions were made available to help gap soaring costs in city halls and county courthouses, but special tax districts — standalone agencies typically covering small and rural populations — were not eligible.

Pandemic

Already suffering declining revenue and volunteers, Lebanon’s fire service was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

It’s a combination department that runs two 24-hour fire stations, and two more stations with limited hours to extend the district’s response to burning buildings and medical emergencies during the day.

Lebanon Fire District foots one of three ambulance providers in the 2,309-square-mile expanse of Linn County. Albany and Sweet Home provide the others.

By the end of 2020, all three services were overloaded. Hospitals were overloaded. Rodondi said it wasn’t uncommon to send ambulances from Lebanon to Klamath Falls, 214 miles away, or to Portland.

Medical crews from the district traveled as far away as locations in California and Idaho, Rodondi said. And frequently, Rodondi pushed through overtime pay to keep Lebanon’s four ambulances rolling.

“There’s a cost to have employees,” he said.

Overtime

The funds set aside in the district that year for payroll did not anticipate an overcrowded health care system.

About one in five patients hospitalized in Oregon was sick with COVID-19 in December 2020, and more than 660 were hospitalized with the disease at any one time.

Lebanon’s four ambulances ran nearly all the time.

“I outpaced the budget,” Rodondi said.

Much of the cost overrun is from transportation between facilities. Emergencies frequently go straight to Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital.

Then ambulances transport stabilized patients from one emergency room to a larger hospital with specialized services not available in Lebanon.

In response to the financial crisis, Lebanon Fire District has two moves: Reduce service or increase its revenue.

Rodondi said he shut down the fourth ambulance in early 2021 to balance the budget. The truck likely won’t be staffed again until 2024.

“It’s still not in the black. I’m just slowing the hemorrhaging,” Rodondi said.

Cost

Much of the increased need for ambulances came at the cost of federal reimbursement.

Lebanon’s fire service wrote off nearly $4.9 million in fees that the tax district couldn’t recover from billing for patients insured under Medicaid and Medicare.

Rodondi said&nbs

APPLETON, Wis. (March 14, 2023) – Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) company, announced the Baltimore County Fire Department (BCoFD) in Maryland has placed an order for 23 custom Pierce fire apparatus. This is the second substantial order for the department since 2019. BCoFD will have taken delivery of 55 Pierce apparatus in total by the end of 2024.

The purchase of the new fire apparatus was managed by authorized Pierce dealer Atlantic Emergency Solutions in Virginia and is part of an initiative to improve the department’s strategic emergency response in the communities they serve.

The most recent order includes ten Pierce Enforcer™ 750-gallon pumpers, six Enforcer 1,000- gallon pumpers, two Ascendant^Ò 107’ Heavy-Duty Tillers, three Heavy-Duty Rescue engines, one Heavy-Duty Rescue Unit, one Heavy-Duty Rescue Hazmat Unit, and one Freightliner tanker.

“Our objective in purchasing the new apparatus is enhanced public safety,” said Fire Chief Joanne Rund. “Baltimore County Executive John Olszeswki Jr. prioritized this goal and secured the necessary funding to upgrade the fleet to keep our communities safe for many years to come.”

BCoFD’s Fire Maintenance Fleet Manager Michael Huber said, “Crews are happy with the maneuverability and ease of use of Pierce fire apparatus. They are eager to put this most recent order into service.”

Safety for fire and EMS personnel is a top priority for BCoFD. All the new fire trucks will be equipped with side roll protection and front airbags. Some units will contain decontamination showers.

“We appreciate Pierce and Atlantic Emergency Solutions working with us to meet our unique specifications and build the safest equipment for our crews,” Huber added.

Baltimore County Fire Department’s new fire apparatus replace aging units which no longer meet the needs of the department and will help improve tactics in emergency response situations.

All new fire apparatus feature a new black-over-red paint color scheme, a visible representation to the community that BCoFD is working to keep them safe.

The Baltimore County Fire Department serves a population of nearly 850,000 people and responds to approximately 150,000 incidents annually. The department has more than 1,000 sworn and civilian personnel based at 25 career and 29 volunteer fire companies.

“Working with the Baltimore County Fire Department to upgrade and improve their fleet has been an honor, and we are proud to have earned their trust by providing quality solutions and dedicated service,” said Bob Rosensteel, regional account manager for Atlantic Emergency Solutions. “Now operating a full Pierce fleet, with some in reserve, having a manufacturing partner who listens to their needs with convenient service center access are critical factors for Baltimore County as we work to place 55 new fire apparatus in service within the next few years. We are committed to being a trusted resource every step of the way.”

For a comprehensive review of Pierce pumpers, rescues, and other products, visit www.piercemfg.com for specs, video, and images.

About Pierce Manufacturing

Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation [NYSE: OSK] company, is the leading North American manufacturer of custom fire apparatus. Products include custom and commercial pumpers, aerials, rescue trucks, wildland trucks, mini pumpers, elliptical tankers, and homeland security appara

BROOKFIELD, WI – March 14, 2023 – REV Group, Inc. (NYSE: REVG), a leading company that designs and manufactures specialty vehicles in the fire & emergency, commercial and recreation industries, announces Robert “Montie” Watson as the new Vice President and General Manager of the Holden, Louisiana facility which produces Ferrara and KME fire trucks. Watson will report to Dan DesRochers, President, REV Fire Group.

With over 35 years of operations, supply chain and product management expertise in manufacturing and industrial environments, Watson joins REV Group from J.B. Poindexter & Company where he held various roles of increasing responsibility within the company’s business units, most recently as Vice President of Fleet Strategic Accounts for Morgan Truck Body and Vice President of Operations for Leer Truck Accessories Group. Watson has also served in operational leadership roles with Cintas Corporation, Caldwell Manufacturing, Digital Optics Corporation and Alcatel Telecommunications.

“Montie has the manufacturing industry experience and significant lean production skills to help our Holden facility increase efficiencies and throughput and ensure on-time deliveries to our customers,” said Dan DesRochers, President, REV Fire Group. “We are delighted to welcome Montie to the team and look forward to his leadership in the next phase of growth for Ferrara and KME, two renowned fire apparatus brands.”

Watson served as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy and holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Auburn University.

About Ferrara Fire Apparatus, Inc.

Ferrara, a subsidiary of REV Gr

Firefighters in Sabino rescued a man Monday who was trapped in a grain bin.

Firefighters responded to the 3800 block of Stone Road in Sabina for a report of a 76-year-old buried up to his chest in a grain bin filled with corn.

• Nominate a Rural Fire Department to Receive Life-Saving Grain Bin Equipment

The call came in at about 11:15 a.m. and the rescue took nearly six hours. THe man entered the grain bin to investigate a potential leak.

Firefighters had to cut holes in the bin to let corn out to lower the levels enough to extricate the man. He was transported to the hospital, but remained conscious and communicating with firefighters throughout the rescue.

HME Ahrens-Fox—Mokelumne Hill (CA) Volunteer Fire Department Super Type 6 California OES spec pumper. Ford F-550 4-door cab and chassis; Power Stroke 6.7L-V8 330-hp engine; Darley KHM 500-gpm rear-mount pump; UPF Poly 300-gallon water tank; 20-gallon foam cell; Ahrens-Fox 3000 single-agent foam system. Dealer: Chris Kenner, BIT Pros Fire Services, Escondido, CA.

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Don Sweeney – The Charlotte Observer
A driver ran over a fire hose at a Los Angeles blaze, knocking down and injuring a firefighter, California officials reported.

Firefighters were called to a fire outside Synthetic Grass Depot in Tarzana at 4:49 a.m. Monday, March 13, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in an alert.

While they fought the blaze, a civilian vehicle ran over a 4-inch hose in the street, knocking down a firefighter, the alert said. The firefighter suffered minor injuries.

“Due to the location of the nearest fire hydrant to an incident, it is sometimes necessary (we avoid it whenever possible) to cross streets with the large diameter supply line,” firefighters wrote.

The alert warned drivers never to cross a fire hose, saying “the potential for life-altering injuries is very real.”

Firefighters were expected to remain at the scene through the morning to finish mopping up the blaze, the alert said.

Tarzana is a neighborhood about 40 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

©2023 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Muncie (IN) Mayor Dan Ridenour on March 2 declared two new city fire stations among his goals for this year, thestarpress.com reported.

The new stations replace Fire Station No. 5 along Tillotson Avenue next to Christy Woods and Fire Station No. 6 along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at McCulloch Park, according to the report.

Ridenour told The Star Press that the combined cost of the two new stations was about $15 million to be paid for by a bond issue, the report said. The bond would be paid back with Economic Development Income Tax, or EDIT, money, which is under the control of the mayor.

However, Muncie City Council would have to approve the bond issue in the coming weeks for the funding plan to work, the report said.

Fire Station No. 5 will be a two-story building and will be larger than Fire Station No. 6 to accommodate a ladder truck needed to reach upper stories on the tall buildings at nearby Ball State University, the report said. IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital is also located near Fire Station No. 5.

The city of Springfield, together with the Springfield Fire Department, announced Friday the addition of a brand-new fire engine and a new ladder truck to the fleet, the city said in a news release.

Both have arrived and will be serving the Springfield residents in the next few weeks. The community got to see the new ladder truck Saturday during the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. It was featured with the Springfield Fire Department’s parade entry.

“The Springfield Fire Department is recognized as ISO Class 1. That achievement is not possible without the continued support the department receives from the residents of Springfield,” Mayor Jim Langfelder said. “Modernization and citywide coverage has been a
strong focus for the city and its first responders. This new equipment is one more piece to ensure that the Springfield Fire Department has the necessary tools to operate at its highest level.”

“The men and women of the Springfield Fire Department work hard to provide the best in service and quality care to the residents of Springfield. This addition to our fleet, along with the fire engine, is something we take great pride in. We are excited to show the residents what they have helped provide our department and we wanted to say thank you,” said Springfield Fire
Chief Brandon Blough.

These new apparatuses will be designated as Truck 1 and Engine 1. After the parade, Truck 1 will return to the city of Springfield Fleet Garage to have specialized equipment and tools added. Both will then be entered into service and reside at Fire Station 1, which is located
downtown on Ninth Street and Capitol Avenue, by the end of this month.

Vivienne Aguilar
The Modesto Bee
(TNS)

Mar. 12—Modesto Junior College’s School of Public Safety is trying to get back to the days when it had everything it needed to train firefighters and emergency medical services students on modern equipment, said Ron Cripe, MJC’s director of the Regional Fire Training Center. Federal funding is helping it do so.

The center recently was awarded $2 million, said Cripe, and a fully equipped fire engine alone can cost over $1 million.

The Yosemite Community College District applied for federal funding to get new equipment for MJC’s training center, which is used for continuing education by fire departments across the Central Valley and Mother Lode areas.

The $2 million, from the Federal Consolidated Appropriations Act, has been “earmarked” for MJC’s Fire Academy, said Yosemite Community College District Chancellor Henry C.V. Yong. Fire Academy courses are taught at the Regional Fire Training Center, which is on the MJC College of Public Safety campus. This is the first time the district has looked into funding this way; normally, it applies for grants.

Pedro Mendez, MJC’s dean of career technical education, said Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Josh Harder helped secure the federal money. Harder “was a part-time instructor at MJC before he ran for Congress. Not too many people remember that,” Yong told The Bee. And as a congressman, he has visited the fire training facility.

The money “will support state-of-the-art training for students enrolled in MJC’s Fire Academy and Fire Science degree and certificate programs, as well as for working firefighters who depend on MJC for continuing education in the latest fire-suppression techniques,” according to a press release.

The training facility is shopping around for two main pieces of equipment for students, Cripe said. First, it’s reached out to vendors hoping to find a fire engine.

“Most engines (when they’re very stripped down) are going to be somewhere between $200,000 to $700,000. It depends on all of the uniqueness that they have to have,” Cripe said. “I need something that’s going to pump (water), take equipment from point A to point B out on the grounds and be able to function with everything that we need to, reliably.”

Second, it’s hoping to find a training prop for fire and EMS students to practice potentially life-threatening scenarios without being in danger. “The primary prop is going to be the design of a building that will incorporate all of the rescue type techniques: search, rescue, breach, etc. We need to teach (things like) how to break through a wall to get from one room to another,” Cripe said.

“They definitely need new (training) props,” said Max Raymond, a 19-year-old MJC student who operates the Code 3 Emergency Instagram account. Raymond is enrolled in the Emergency Medical Responder 350 course within the School of Public Safety. In his free time, he listens to local emergency scanner channels and photographs firefighters in action for the 12,000-plus followers on the social media platform.

The training facility currently has a five-story, concrete prop with rooms that are able to be fully engulfed in flames, beds and stoves that can withstand fire and last up to a decade of use, plus more, to give students the space to practice the techniques they learn in the classroom.

“We probably have about 75% get employed in the fire service in some way. Now that may be working for an ambulance company, and going through that process, and then maybe later, jumping into a fire agency,” Cripe said.

The facility is used by&nb

Marah Morrison
The News-Herald, Willoughby, Ohio
(TNS)

Mar. 11—The Willoughby Hills City Council’s Finance Committee recently held its first of two budget hearings.

The initial hearing had a focus on the city’s Service Department, as well as its Fire Department.

Among the topics that were discussed was that the price of road salt is almost the same as last year. If the mild weather should continue, the city will have a stockpile of salt to carry into next winter at the same price, said Mayor Andy Gardner.

“With the construction of the new salt storage facility, we have the perfect place to store the salt,” Gardner said.

The focus on the city’s road resurfacing program will be the cost of the engineering and local share for the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Chardon Road resurfacing project, which will take place west from SOM Center Road to Bishop Road.

“These costs will be incurred this year and the resurfacing will take place in 2024,” Gardner said. “The city will be resurfacing Pleasant Valley Road from the bridge west to Chardon Road and restriping all roads in the city. I am also hoping that we will again be able to coordinate the repainting of fire hydrants in the city with the Lake County Water Department.”

Meanwhile, Fire Chief Robert Gandee said his department continues to focus on increasing staffing and updating its vehicle fleet.

“The 2023 budget includes funding for a sixth firefighter on all shifts,” Gandee said. “Our hope is that we will be able to provide more staffing on our emergency responses while, at the same time, having a buffer in place to avoid overtime in the event that a scheduled firefighter cannot work their shift.”

Gandee also reported that the department’s new incident command vehicle is in its final stages of upfitting and should be on the road in the next three weeks. The department’s new fire engine will start to be built this month with delivery late this summer to follow.

In addition, a new ambulance will be ordered to come into service in 2024 and the replacement for the fire chief’s emergency response vehicle is expected to be delivered next quarter. The Service Department has also been able to do some projects to freshen up some of the spaces in the Fire Department.

“The department has obtained many grants to assist with the cost of equipment replace over the years — new SCBAs, radios, hoses, thermal imagining equipment,” Gandee said. “We will continue to pursue those grants. The department is also evaluating the use of grants to add additional, full-time personnel.”

The next budget hearing is scheduled for March 15 and will focus on the Police Department and administrative budgets. City Councilman Mike Kline, chair of the Finance Committee, said he welcomes questions from the public and can be reached via email at MikeKline@Willoughbyhills-oh.gov.

___

(c)2023 The News-Herald (Willoughby, Ohio)

Visit The News-Herald (Willoughby, Ohio) at www.news-herald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Coxreels is proud to introduce a new line of three industrial duty LED lights now available on the PC10 reels. The new LED lights feature a variety of industrial-grade features and options, including: a 50,000 hour rating, internal light diffusers, and shatter-resistant polycarbonate lenses. Coxreels’ new LED lights also feature adjustable steel hooks for hands-free placement.

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For further information on Coxreels® industrial duty LED lights, contact Customer Service at (800) 269-7335 or visit www.coxreels.com.

The Flint Fire Department requested multiple new fire trucks for the department at last week’s city council meeting, abc12.com reported.

A fire official told the council that the department needed about five to six new trucks. The department sought permission to purchase three trucks: A ladder truck, a heavy rescue truck and a pumper truck, the report said.

The ladder truck would cost just over $1 million while the pumper and heavy rescue would cost about $750,000 apiece. All three trucks are currently available as demonstration or gently used models from Pierce Manufacturing, according to the report.

The fire official said that some existing Flint fire trucks had been driven over 175,000 miles and they are rusting, the report said.

Almost eight years after it was founded, Emergency Service District No. 6 broke ground last week on what will one day be the site of a two-story fire station on SH 36 in Pleak, fbherald.com reported.

The service district was created in 2015 when a majority of Pleak residents voted to impose a tax of .10 cents per $100 of property value to provide funding for the emergency service district, the report said.

Taxes collected over the years have gone to purchase equipment and supplies, according to the report.

Presently, Pleak fire share a small station house owned by the city of Pleak.

The new fire station will be about 13,400 square feet and cost an estimated $3.2 million, the report said. It will have office space for fire and EDS, kitchen, common area, sleeping quarters on the first and second floor and have four bays to hold fire trucks and other equipment.

Construction on the facility itself could start within the next few weeks. Construction is expected to end in the spring of 2024, according to the report.

Julie Abbass
Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
(TNS)

Mar. 12—COPENHAGEN — The question of asset ownership no longer involves just the village and the non-profit Copenhagen Fire Department Inc. A Long Island-based organization that supports fire departments around the country with equipment and training called and they want their transportation van back.

On Feb. 23, village Mayor Mark A. Souva received an email from Brian Farrell, Chairman of the Terry Farrell Firefighter Fund based in Bethpage, asking for help recovering the transportation van given to the Copenhagen Volunteer Fire Department in January 2022.

Mr. Farrell said the van was given to the village’s fire department under terms that require it to be returned if it is not being used for the intended purpose of supporting firefighters and if a department wants to get rid of a vehicle donated by the Terry Fund after it has been used for some time “it must first be offered back to the Fund.”

The chief of the village’s fire department at that time, Terence M. “TJ” Williams, had asked for “a van to benefit our department,” according to the request letter he sent to the Fund on the fire corporation’s letterhead.

Mr. Farrell said he and other Fund leaders became concerned about the location and use of the van after reading about the Feb. 16 Lewis County Supreme Court’s decision to freeze all but two of the accounts under the control of Copenhagen Fire Department Inc. and the use of all equipment, apparatus and vehicles — including the van — except for a pick-up truck with a plow.

The Fund was not notified that the village department no longer existed and that the non-profit remaining as Copenhagen Fire Department Inc. was no longer under contract to fight fires, according to Mr. Farrell.

Mr. Williams sent the Fund a letter dated the same day as the court proceeding requesting a notarized letter verifying that the van was a donation from the Terry Fund which Mr. Farrell — who is a lawyer — interpreted as “clearly a ploy to get the Terry Fund involved in the dispute … we refused.”

When Mr. Farrell emailed Mr. Williams that the van should be returned, Mr. Williams asked for proof that he had signed an agreement for the van.

Although Mr. Farrell said the terms of contract were explained to Mr. Williams, the agreement was again made clear to the group that picked up the van and he believes one of the group signed for the vehicle under those terms.

A photo supplied by Mr. Farrell of the Copenhagen group picking up the van shows corporation President James Henry and corporation members Shane D. Henry and Terence M. Williams Sr. in front of the van before heading back north.

Mr. Farrell is not currently in the state and does not have access to the records so he could not locate the signed agreement but noted that even without it, because the value of the van is less that $5,000, a verbal agreement is sufficient under state law.

He and two other Fund members were present when the terms of the contract were discussed with the Copenhagen group before they accepted the van.

Mr. Souva said that although he would like to help expedite the situation to get the van back to the Terry Fund which claims there are eight departments on a wait list for a van donation, he has not reached out directly or through counsel to Mr. Williams or Mr. Henry.

“We know their stance,” said Mr. Souva. “I’m not going to try to demand it at this point. There’s no sense in trying to

Midwest Fire—Clearview Fire & Emergency Services, Stayner, Ontario, Canada, tanker. Freightliner M2 112 crew cab and chassis; Cummins L9 450-hp engine; Hale Side Kick 500-gpm PTO pump; APR polypropylene 3,000-gallon water tank; three Newton 10-inch stainless-steel dump valves; All-Poly™ construction; Elkhart Brush Hawk monitor. Dealer: Jeff Bowen, Midwest Fire, Luverne, MN.

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The Houston County Fire Department will soon have a brand new facility with bunk rooms, a kitchen, living area, weight room, and more, WGXA.tv reported.

The new facility will also be a first responder hub, the report said.

It will house a fire station, an EMS station for medical service and will serve as a sheriff’s department precinct, a fire official said.

With the original building being five decades old, and with the Bonaire community growing, the department decided it was time for something new, the report said.

The county hopes the new $4.1 million infrastructure will help attract new firefighters to the force, the report said.

The new station in Bonaire will be funded by a special tax that was approved by voters several years ago, the report said.