Timber Mesa Fire and Medical District in Show Low, Arizona, announced the line of duty deaths of two firefighters in a traffic collision Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, the department said in a Facebook post.

The collision, which is under investigation by the Arizona Department of Public Safety, happened at 10:15 p.m. on State Route 260 after a car crashed head-on into an ambulance, ktar.com reported. The car driver also died.

“Our entire organization is grieving the loss of our team members,” Timber Mesa Fire said in the Facebook post. “We ask for privacy and compassion as we support the families, co-workers, and community during this very difficult time.”

According to DPS, a driver was headed west on SR 260 when the car crossed the center line and collided head-on with a TMFMD ambulance, the radio station reported.

The driver of the car that crossed the center line and two people inside the ambulance were all pronounced dead at the scene, DPS said.

The department added that it is not known what caused the driver to cross the center line, according to the radio station report.

The post Three Killed, Including Two FFs, in Head-On Crash in AZ appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

COATESVILLE, Pennslyvania (September 2025) – Witmer Public Safety Group, Inc., the leading multi-channel distributor of public safety equipment, is pleased to announce the appointment of Tara Bowland as Regional Sales Manager – Virginia, West Virginia, Southern Maryland, and District of Columbia.

Bowland brings more than 20 years of fire service sales and leadership experience, including nearly two decades at MSA – The Safety Company, where she served as National Strategic Account Manager for the U.S. and Canada. Her track record of building high-value customer relationships, navigating complex procurement processes, and driving consistent year-over-year growth positions WPSG to further expand its leadership as the No. 1 distributor of fire equipment in Virginia.

“Tara’s knowledge of Virginia, West Virginia, and Southern Maryland is unmatched. She has worked alongside many of the region’s largest departments and knows the competitive landscape inside and out. With her leadership, we are well-positioned to expand our reach and solidify our standing as the leading fire equipment distributor in the Mid-Atlantic,” said James Witmer, CEO of Witmer Public Safety Group.

In her new role, Bowland will lead regional strategy, mentor and support Witmer’s growing sales team, and work directly with counties, unions, and departments to expand the adoption of brands WPSG represents.

“Tara’s experience with MSA and her deep relationships across the fire service community give us a significant advantage as we continue to grow in Virginia and beyond. Her arrival signals our commitment not just to sales in the region, but to building the service and infrastructure that departments need to succeed,” said Peter Kosciewicz, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Witmer Public Safety Group.

Bowland, an MBA graduate of Walden University and a recipient of multiple national sales awards including an Ultimate Customer Experience honor in 2024, has also been recognized for her mentoring and leadership in developing high-performing teams.

With Bowland’s appointment, WPSG strengthens its commitment to supporting fire departments with the best products, service, and expertise in the industry.

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About Witmer Public Safety Group
Witmer Public Safety Group, Inc. is a family-owned, multi-channel distributor serving fire, law enforcement, and emergency service professionals nationwide. Through brands including TheFireStore, OfficerStore, theEMSstore, and others, WPSG provides the industry’s most comprehensive selection of gear, equipment, and services, backed by a team dedicated to protecting those who protect us.

The post Witmer Public Safety Group Appoints Tara Bowland Regional Sales Manager appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

Caitlin Dee
The Daily News of Newburyport, Mass.
(TNS)

SALISBURY — The popular longtime tradition of the Fireman’s Muster is returning on Sept. 21, offering locals the chance to engage in unique, historic fun.

The event will be held on Elm Street and is a part of Salisbury Days, a weekend’s worth of activities celebrating the town.

The tradition of Salisbury hosting a fireman’s muster first began in the late 1800s according to Jim Moghabghab, former president of the Salisbury Historical Society.

Moghabghab said the event was first held on the beach and has moved a number of times to locations like Broadway before eventually landing at Elm Street where it has remained the past few years.

The fireman’s muster involves a group of individuals pumping water out of hand tub to see whose stream goes the furthest.

A hand tub is defined as “a fire-fighting apparatus consisting of an often tub-shaped reservoir of water pumped out through a hose by means of a pump with brakes that are rocked up and down by a number of persons on each side of the apparatus,” according to Merriam Webster.

While the hand tubs have not been used to fight fires for many years, they are still used to compete in the muster.

“So, many years ago when a fire happened, they would muster up the community to come help pump these trucks, to shoot the water, to put out the fires. And, now it’s a competition,” Jenn Roketenetz, Salisbury Parks and Recreation Administrator said.

Roketenetz said she expects about 14 hand tubs will be at the event, similar to the previous year’s festivities.

While the groups participating in the event are from the New England States Veteran Fireman’s League, some are locals and many will try to drum up crowd participation.

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“There are people from Salisbury that are part of the teams, and then also they will muster up participation from the crowd,” she said.

Last year’s competition was won by “T.W. Lane,” a team from the Mystic Fire Department in Connecticut.

Roketenetz said she believes it is important to keep local history alive through events like the fireman’s muster.

“It’s part of our community story. So, every time we host an event like this or we host an open house, we’re keeping those stories alive. And, we’re also in a very immersive way sharing those stories with generations to come and that’s important,” she said.

On top of the historical significance, Roketenetz said townspeople gravitate towards the event which is a major part of the Salisbury Days festivities.

“I think people really enjoy it, and they look forward to it. It’s something different and unique to this area,” she said.

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Jack Lakowsky – The Day, New London, Conn.

East Lyme — The radios clipped to the hips of East Lyme’s first responders don’t work as they should, and the town has said it will do whatever it takes to fix the problem, a threat to the safety of police, firefighters and the public alike.

The town has formed a task force of emergency service leaders to determine short- and long-term solutions for the problem, which First Selectman Dan Cunningham called a top priority, and so far has budgeted $1.6 million to pay for any new equipment or infrastructure, Finance Director Kevin Gervais said. The group meets monthly.

That $1.6 million price, though, doesn’t include the nearly $500,000 in federal COVID-19 relief money the town previously spent on new handheld radios that completely failed. Those devices, Harris radios, now sit unused because of a software licensing issue with the vendor.

And the town has little means of recuperating that money, Cunningham said. They’re virtually unsellable without the software and legal action wouldn’t go anywhere, he said.

“The issue has been going on for years,” Cunningham told the police commission in August. “Firefighters can’t talk to police, police can’t talk to dispatch.”

Lt. Mike Macek recently told the Board of Police Commissioners that sometimes, the poorly working radios force officers to call dispatchers on their cellphones.

“This is really a very serious safety issue, if they can’t communicate effectively” Cunningham said. “It’s a very serious deficiency.”

The town has a new contract with a company that will improve existing equipment. The company, Goosetown Communications, has identified ways to double coverage, an immediate way of at least easing the issue before the town figures out how to achieve its ultimate goal, getting East Lyme’s emergency communications on a statewide system Connecticut runs.

But getting on the state system is tricky, Cunningham said. Connecticut needs a municipality’s own system to be robust and updated enough to get on the state’s without disrupting or corrupting it with bad signals.

“We can’t be an island,” Cunningham said. “It will cost money to get there, but it’s something we have to do, whatever it takes.”

Cunningham said the radios in the town’s emergency vehicles, hooked up to strong batteries, work fine.

‘I’m just shocked’

Macek told police commissioners the task force’s most immediate goal is to stabilize what the town has now, looking at current infrastructure within the emergency management building on Route 156 and at equipment still housed in the former dispatch center on Boston Post Road.

Now that the town is working with Goosetown, the state will be more open to talks with the town about getting on the state’s communication systems, Macek said.

“I think we’ve got a good path for the short-term goal for now,” Macek said.

But the long-term fix of getting on the state system is at least two years off, Macek said, even if the town bought all new equipment and upgraded local communications towers.

Commissioner Joseph Perkins said he thought the issue was fixed and asked how the issue “fell into the trash can this way.”

“I thought we had a handle on this thing,” Perkins said.

Cunningham said previous attempts at improving emergency communications failed because different departments pursued individual projects, rather than collaborate and make a single, organized effort.

“We’re organized now,&#