The Kimball Township Fire Department will soon be getting new radios thanks to a federal grant, thetimesherald.com reported.

The fire department received a $122,338 Assistance to Firefighter’s Grant from the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency last week, the report said.

They applied for the grant in January 2022. The money will be used to replace all of the radios, including the portable and in-truck models, the report said.

Kimball Township Fire Department currently has 35 working radios and six are out of service, according to the report.

If Wellsville (OH) is an example, local fire stations responding to the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine are now facing expensive gear replacement costs due to the exposure to carcinogens while the train cars burned, reviewonline.com reported.

The Wellsville Fire Department is looking at an estimated $100,000 worth of gear to replace if not more, according to a fire official, the report said.

The fire department has seven sets of turn-out gear (protective garment worn by firefighters) to replace at an estimated cost of $5,000 a set. This includes, helmet, coat, pants, boots, gloves and Nomex hood.

Turn-out gear is primarily for thermal protection and does not protect a firefighter from carcinogens or dangerous chemicals in the air which can be absorbed through the skin.

According to the fire official, those departments purchasing this gear from multiple manufacturers are being advised to call the manufacturers for recommendations, the report said.

Yonkers has two new fire trucks in its fleet, representing a $2.2 million investment to replace aging trucks currently in service, westfaironline.com reported.

During a Jan. 31 event, Yonkers Fire Chaplain William Cleary blessed the trucks before they were put into service, one going to Ladder 70 at 2187 Central Park Avenue, and the other going to Squad 11 at Station 11 at 433 Bronxville Road, the report said.

Deputy Fire Commissioner John Folkerts said that planning for the new trucks began three years ago with preparation of the department’s capital budget and specifications for the trucks, according to the report.

Mayor Mike Spano pointed out that there was bipartisan support for allocating funds to buy the new trucks. He said that the city has put 17 new fire trucks into service in the past 10 years, the report said.

The Martin County Sherriff’s Office arrested a Philadelphia man Sunday and charged him with rampaging through a firehouse after the Philadelphia Eagles lost in the Super Bowl.

They say 25-year old Edward Dalasandro broke into the Martin County Fire Rescue Station on NE Ocean Boulevard at about 10 p.m.

Inside, he ransacked the bunk rooms, urinated on the carpet and stole $126, a uniform hat and some knives, the sheriff reported. When firefighters confronted him, he allegedly threw a meat cleaver at them.

He is charged with armed burglary, aggravated assault on a firefighter and theft.