The Port Ewen (NY) Volunteer Fire Department is getting a new $6.5 million station, reports dailyfreeman.com.

Voters recently overwhelmingly approved the measure for a new 26,643-square-foot facility on a 2.6-acre parcel on Town Hall Way, the report says, about a mile south of where the current 10,100-square-foot stations stand.

A study of utility expenses shows annual costs could be reduced by $3,678 in a new facility, according to the report.

Crews began using Station 1 at 161 Broadway in 1896, which was destroyed by fire and replaced in 1908, and then had additions in the 1950s and 1965, the report says.

Station 2, at 153 Broadway, opened in 1976 to house large apparatus.

Mentor (OH) Fire Department will soon have a new ambulance and a rescue/pumper in service after the city council approved the purchase of the vehicles to replace an aging fleet, according to a report published by The News-Herald.

The apparatus are included in the current budget and will be funded by the city’s fire levy, the newspaper reported.

The plan includes the purchase of a 2022 Braun Chief XL to replace a 2004 Braun ambulance which will be place in reserve status, the paper reported, adding the cost of the new ambulance will $235,896.

Because the chassis is in stock, it’s estimated that the ambulance will be built in about six months, according to the paper, which also reported it will have an onboard HEPA air filter system, UV interior disinfecting lighting and hard wipe surfaces.

The custom rescue/engine will be built by Sutphen and feature a Monarch severe duty cab and chassis at a cost of $602,000 with a build time of 15 to 19 months, the newspaper reported. It will replace a 2007 model with over 100,000 miles on it and will be place in reserve.

The paper also reported that the new rescue/engine will be a sister truck to one already in the fleet and be equipped similarly with specialized heavy rescue equipment for freeway or industrial accidents.

Both the new ambulance and the new rescue/engine will be assigned to Fire Station No. 5.

Patrick Ford reportedly stole an EMS Task Force apparatus from a staging area at an Atlantic City (NJ) convention for emergency responders and took it for a joyride before being arrested, reports NJ.com.

 The 31-year-old Ford, of Clementon, was arrested Tuesday and charged with theft and two counts of criminal mischief, police officials say. They add that he took the emergency off-road vehicle from a Harrah’s Resort parking lot around 9:30 p.m. Monday before he crashed into several parked vehicles and other objects.

Ford then drove through a gate and onto the Boardwalk at Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, according to the report, before his joyride ended when he parked the vehicle near Iowa Avenue and left the scene.

The New Jersey Emergency Preparedness Association had its annual conference at Harrah’s from Sunday through Wednesday of this week, the report notes.

Police are investigating, but they do not believe Ford is an EMT or first responder; additional charges are pending.

SVI Trucks—Newton County (GA) Fire Service air/light unit. Kenworth T440 4×2 two-door cab and chassis; Paccar PX9 450-hp engine; Command Light CL602A-FX with 6 Spectra Max fixtures; Lima PTO 40-kW generator; Bauer K-18.1-20-E3 air compressor; Bauer CFS4.4 3M 3-cylinder 5,500-psi filling station; OnScene Solutions heavy-duty aluminum cargo slides. Dealer: Shannon Daves, Williams Fire Apparatus, Ashland, AL.

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