Wyoming, Iowa – Dinges Fire Company (Amboy, Ill) recently acquired Fox Apparatus Repair & Maintenance, adding a fourth mobile service unit to its fleet.

Derek Feuss, owner of Fox Apparatus Repair & Maintenance, joined Dinges Fire Company in 2020 as a sales representative serving fire departments in northeast Iowa. He will continue in this role while joining the mobile service department.

Dinges Fire Company offers preventative maintenance and repair on extrication tools and SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) across the Midwest. Feuss will also do warranty work on Toyne Fire Trucks in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Feuss is an 11-year fire fighter currently serving as the assistant fire chief for the Oxford Junction Fire Department. He purchased Fox Apparatus Repair & Maintenance from its founder in 2017 and served 125 customers in eastern Iowa.

“We are excited to expand our mobile service capabilities to include On-site Fire Apparatus Repair and Preventative Maintenance and look forward to growing the service segment of our company by adding Fox Apparatus Repair to our 90-person Team.” – Nick Dinges, CEO of the Dinges Fire Company.

Dinges Fire Company serves fire departments and emergency personnel in seven Midwestern states with a mission to protect America’s first responders with the best safety and protection equipment on the market, and be a catalyst for positive change in those communities served.

This marks the third Acquisition for Dinges Fire Company in the past three years.

It’s usually every kid’s dream to ride on a fire truck, but that scenario turned out to be a nightmare for one Alberta (Canada) family last Thursday.

Lia Lousier was walking with her kids on Thursday afternoon when 10-year-old Braeden slipped on ice and fell, reports globalnews.ca. Braeden broke his leg and had to be taken to the hospital via fire truck as no ambulances were available.

It all started when Lousier’s other son called 911 after the fall, and they were told that an ambulance would be on its way, according to the report. EMS called back 15 minutes later inquiring about an update.

She then noticed Braeden starting to turn pale and begged for at least a fire apparatus, knowing that there would be a paramedic present. Once firefighters arrived, they called for EMS, the report says; when nothing was available they transported him to the Airdrie Community Health Centre in the fire apparatus.

He was administered painkillers, X-rayed, and transported—via ambulance!—to Alberta Children’s Hospital, where he’s recovering.

The North Park (IL) Fire Protection District’s 75-year-old fire truck is now on display.

Unit One arrived at the station in January 1947, just six months after the fire district was formed. It was retired in 1973.

“Soon after [delivery of the apparatus], the department began answering calls for service,” the district writes on Facebook. “2022 marks 75 years of service for the department. Unit One, the department’s antique, responded to those first calls for service. We’re fortunate to still own this piece of our department’s history!”

The apparatus was made by the Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation, according to a report in wifr.com. It features a bell, has two seats in the front, and holds 400 gallons of water.

Rosenbauer—Northwest Homer Fire Protection District, Homer Glen, IL, tanker. Freightliner 114SD cab and chassis; Cummins L9 400-hp engine; Waterous CSCU 750-gpm pump; UPF Poly 3,000-gallon water tank; Federal Signal warning lights. Dealer: Bill Schreiber, Sentinel Emergency Solutions, St. Louis, MO.

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