The Madison (AL) Fire and Rescue Department is working with Partnership for a Drug-Free Community an atypical fundraiser, the Pullin’ for Partnership – Fire Truck Challenge, reports themadisonrecord.com. It will happen on October 26 from 3 to 6 p.m. in Madison City Schools Stadium’s parking lot, 211 Celtic Drive.

In the challenge, 10-member teams will pull a 46,000-pound fire truck via rope for 50 feet, the report says. Trophies will be presented for fastest/slowest pulls, team spirit, and top fundraising.

The team registration fee is $250, and corporate sponsorships are available. Donations to Partnership are tax-deductible, and all proceeds will go directly to Partnership for a Drug-Free Community’s programs, according to the report. The registration deadline is October 15.

The event will be livestreamed on Facebook. More information can be found here.

The Occum (CT) Volunteer Fire Department has been awarded a $100,000 state grant to cover building upgrade projects, reports theday.com. However, city officials want to study the project further before accepting the money.

City council plans to vet the project and then vote on a recommendation at its October 18 meeting, the report says.

The grant, from the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, would cover renovations including handicapped-accessible bathrooms only on the first floor, refurbishing the second-story meeting room floor, new entrance doors, and a new exterior sign to highlight upcoming events and public safety alerts, officials say.

The grant does not require a matching share from the city or the fire department, and the work was not included in this year’s city capital improvements budget, the report says.

After almost two decades of working out of a three-stall barn, the Sioux Center (IA) Fire Department is opening its new $1.3 million Station 2, reports ktiv.com. But there’s more sentiment behind it than just new working quarters.

Station 2’s main designer was Fire Chief Dave Van Holland’s son, Jason. He served in the department from age 16 until 36, when he unexpectedly passed in February 2021 due to an enlarged heart, the report says. The department has a memorial in his honor in the new station, as well as a center outside that honors all the fallen firefighters from Sioux Center.

An open house is scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, October 7 from 5:30-7 p.m. The department will be serving hamburgers and hotdogs and giving the public an inside look at the new station, located at 1510 South Main Ave.

Station 2 is more than 7,200 square feet and can house up to four engines. It includes a new open locker gear room, a wash bay, a museum room home to the department’s 1931 REO fire truck, and a quicker response time.

It took nearly two years to complete and was funded by the City of Sioux Center, community donations, and the Sioux Center Fire Department.

Related Articles:
Sioux Center (IA) Gets Funding for Fire Station Project
Sioux Center (IA) Fire Department to Hold Open House for Station 2 on Oct. 7
Antique Fire Equipment Featured at Sioux City Public Museum (IA)

Dublin (MI) Elementary School third grader Madison Brand showed up to school one day in late September like any kid dreams of—in a White Lake Township fire engine, reports spinalcolumnonline.com.

Brand’s ride was a thank you from the crew for raising money for the department via her lemonade stand for relief efforts from a July tornado, according to the report. She raised more than $100 and donated it in the form of a Kroger gift card.

In addition, the department presented Brand with her own fire helmet with the firefighters’ radio identification numbers and a plaque as more thank yous, the report says.

On September 23, Brand received her special ride with Firefighter David Mills picking her up at her home and dropping her at school with the apparatus’ lights flashing and sirens blaring. Her parents, classmates, and teacher met her at the school, the report says.

This was not Brand’s first rodeo with regards to helping people. Last year, she raised money to buy toys for the children’s center at the University of Michigan Health Center, the report says. Also, for several years she’s helped create care packages for local fire departments.