Minden firefighters have a new $620,000 weapon in their arsenal—a 77-foot Ferrara ladder—on which they’ve been perfecting their craft, reports press-herald.com.

This week, over three days, the department’s 15 full-time crew members have been learning the nuances of the new apparatus in field training, the report says. They’ve also received classroom instruction from a Ferrara official.

Fire officials say the truck should be ready for service by the end of this week.

On the heels of city council approval, the old Mesquite (NV) Fire Station 1 may soon be replaced with a new facility at 105 Mesquite Blvd., just south of the new library, reports mvprogress.com.

Council recently approved the new site and a preliminary plan for the facility’s layout, the report says. Officials say the current Station 1 is in dire need of replacement; in addition to the asbestos it has, it was originally built as a childcare center, then later converted to a medical office, and served myriad other purposes throughout its life.

City officials say that they’ve contracted architects from Simpson Coulter Studio to put together some initial sketches. The results are two potential locations: One is to build an all-new station at the 105 Mesquite Blvd. site; the other is to demolish the old station but leave the apparatus bay and construct a new facility at the same site.

The sketches also proposed two possible layouts for each of the two locations, the report says. The first option would have the apparatus exiting directly onto Mesquite Blvd. and returning via a driveway entrance off Desert Drive; the second would have the apparatus both exiting and entering from Desert Drive.

At the old site, the two options include a smaller plan and a larger plan—both using the same current apparatus bay with some slight changes, the report says.

Officials say that the projected cost for the new-site options south of the library would be between $6.6 million and $7 million; building on the existing site would bring a savings of about $400,000—between $6.2 and $6.8 million.

Officials say the city received $4 million in American Recovery Plan Act funding, which had been set aside for this occasion. Talks also swirled of possibly using RDA (downtown redevelopment) funding.

The Morgan County (AL) Commission and EMA recently distributed 24 LUCAS compression devices and defibrillators to local fire departments.

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The equipment was funded through a $500,000 CDBG-CV grant.

The City of Helena is always looking for ways to show its sense of community. So what better way for the fire department to get in on the act then to use the school colors – Husky Blue – in the paint scheme of the new fire engine.

Fire Chief Pete Valenti told the Shelby County Reporter that the idea for the paint scheme started with the mayor, who suggested a white paint job with husky blue striping. But the idea grew on him, and he suggested going all the way with the blue engine.

The engine was unveiled on Monday and goes into service soon in Station 1.

Visit the Shelby County Reporter for more.