Apparatus Ideas Bob Vaccaro

The Refugio (TX) Volunteer Fire Department is located approximately 50 miles northeast of Corpus Christi. The response area is mostly rural and covers a great distance, according to Chief Ronnie Williams.

“Our response area covers a small populated area but, overall, it is roughly 374 square miles of rural land. The area contains oil fields and a great deal of family-owned land areas. There are no fire hydrants, so we have to bring our own water supply for firefighting,” he says.

The department has 34 volunteer firefighters who not only respond to its own alarms but provide mutual aid to neighboring communities as well. Its response district has Interstate 69 running through it, where it responds to numerous vehicle collisions. It also has the mainline of the Union Pacific Railroad, which has one train per hour running through the area. “This alone gives our department exposure to possible hazmat situations,” says Williams. “When we began designing this new apparatus, we had several goals in mind. We would be replacing two previous vehicles—a 1976, which carried 200 gallons, and a 1980, which carried 1,300 gallons of water. These two pieces of apparatus were getting old and were giving us maintenance issues, so it was time for them to be replaced.”

Williams said the new vehicle had to be able to handle hazmat, heavy rescue, and general firefighting responses. It needed to carry a FOLD-A-TANK 3,500-gallon portable tank and have larger compartments not only for current equipment but for future equipment additions as well. The department also increased the vent size to offload water at a faster rate. “We hired and worked with a fire protection consultant on the specs, which was a great help to us,” says Williams. “To begin the bidding process, the department sent out RFPs to five fire apparatus manufacturers, and four ultimately bid on the truck that met our specs.”

1 The Refugio Fire Department’s pumper-tanker is built on a Kenworth T880 chassis with body by US Fire Apparatus. (Photos courtesy of US Fire Apparatus.)

2 The rear of the rig with the Newton swivel dump valve.

The department wanted either a Kenworth or a Peterbilt chassis that would hold the weight of the water, carry all its equipment, and not be top heavy. This new apparatus would roll second due and be responsible for supplying water to the first-due engines.

The apparatus committee consisted of two captains and one chief, who traveled to the US Fire Apparatus factory for the preconstruction meeting. It also did a virtual midpoint inspection, with the final inspection being done on site. “We were really impressed with their operation,” says Williams. “The workmanship and final product met all of our expectations. The vehicle works flawlessly.”

The department went with an aluminum body that it felt would hold up well. It carries normal engine company tools and fittings as well as forcible entry tools and extriction tools. Williams says the larger compartments provide the department with much more room for equipment storage.

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Emry Dinman
The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
(TNS)

May 20—A Spokane woman will receive up to $180,000 to settle a claim for damages three months after a city fire truck slid down an icy hill and struck her home.

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• Two Spokane (WA) Fire Apparatus Slide Down Icy Hill; Crash Into House, Cars
• WATCH | Ladder Truck Avoids Rolling Over on Black Ice

On Feb. 6, a Spokane Fire truck was responding to a fire alarm when it slid down an icy hill on West Fleming Place into a home on North Greenwood Boulevard near Browne Elementary. A separate fire engine responding to the same call also lost traction on the hill not long after, sliding into two unoccupied cars and causing moderate damage, according to a news release at the time. No one was injured.

At the time, the house was deemed stable enough to live in by a city engineer; however, City Financial Officer Matt Boston on Monday said there were concerns that the homeowner, Lynda Congrove, did not have the funds to promptly fix the damage. That could have forced her out of her home, prompting a faster settlement.

The settlement approved Monday by the Spokane City Council immediately authorizes a $90,000 payment to the homeowner’s daughter, Kelli True, though the settlement covers up to double that amount, depending on final costs for repairs.

© 2025 The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.). Visit www.spokesman.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
© Copyright 2025 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved

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The Ashton (IL) Fire Protection District covers the village of Ashton and 75 square miles of the mostly rural surrounding area in Lee County from one station with 25 volunteer firefighters.

The district’s fleet includes an Alexis engine with a 1,250-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pump and a 1,200-gallon water tank; an American LaFrance pumper on a Freightliner chassis with a 1,500-gpm pump, a 750-gallon water tank, and a 20-gallon foam tank; an International brush truck with a 250-gpm pump and a 200-gallon water tank; a Midwest Fire tanker with a 3,000-gallon water tank and a 3,500-portable water tank; and Road Rescue and MedTec basic life support (BLS) ambulances.

Ashton Fire Lieutenant Kraig Hickey says the district wanted to replace a 1983 GMC Brigadier 2,000-gallon tanker with a new rig that has a pump, a larger water tank, and a turret at the front bumper. “We basically wanted a pumper-tanker that had all the features that could serve as a first attack engine, especially during the daytime when we have limited staffing, yet still could function as a tanker when circumstances dictated it,” Hickey points out.

Hickey says that because the district had a good relationship with Midwest Fire when it purchased a tanker from the company about 10 years ago, Ashton decided to have Midwest Fire build its new pumper-tanker.

Newt Johnson, account representative for Midwest Fire Equipment, talked with the district’s firefighters about their needs and acknowledged the requirement to carry a large amount of water, as well as to be able to use the rig as an initial attack apparatus when necessary. “The pumper-tanker Midwest Fire built for Ashton is on a Freightliner M2 112 two-door cab and chassis powered by a 450-horsepower (hp) Cummins L9 engine and an Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission,” Johnson says.

Wheelbase on the pumper-tanker is 228 inches, the overall length is 34 feet and the overall height is 9 feet 6 inches, Johnson says, and the rig has a Waterous CX 1,250-gpm side-mount pump, and a 3,000-gallon All-Po

The Peoria Fire Department (PFD) serves a city of 113,000. On April 29, 2025, the department held an open house reception and program at Fire Central to observe 150 years as a paid career fire department. Serving Peoria from 12 stations are 174 firefighters, 13 40-hour personnel, and four administrative staff; 12 engine companies; three aerial companies; and one rescue squad to protect an area of 50 square miles.

The department’s 2024 Annual Report shows that the department responded to more than 37,000 calls for fire and medical assistance (78% of all calls for emergency medical help).

Chief Shawn Sollberger welcomed community guests, a recruit fire training class, and retired firefighters to Fire Central in downtown Peoria for an open house presentation, fire station tours, and light refreshments. Sollberger presented a program that noted some of the highlights in the department’s long and proud professional service to Peoria.

For example, a volunteer fire department served Peoria from 1836 until March 9, 1875. Peoria was a booming river town on the banks of the Illinois River marked with flour mills and distilleries. During that period, fire hazards overwhelmed the volunteer fire department. A Peoria city council passed an ordinance that created a paid fire department in 1875. The first chief was Orrin Norton.

In 1882, the department purchased its first steam pumper from Ahrens. In the early years, the paid firefighters worked a 24-hour shift for five days in a row with the sixth day off. During their five-day work cycle, the firefighters were allowed to go home to be with family for 40 minutes three times a day.

By 1900 there were 54 firefighters working from seven fire stations to serve a growing city.

• 1916 – Peoria Fire Department chartered by the American Federation of Labor as Peoria Firefighters Local 50.
• 1940 – First self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). One of the few fire departments in the USA to blaze that trail.
• 1957 – Edward B. Gaines Jr. hired as the first African-American firefighter. New Fire Station 4 honors his name.
• 1978 – New Fire Central house and a training academy built.
• 1983 – Tragic loss of Fire Captain Vernon “Butch” Gudat. The last line of duty fire death of a Peoria firefighter. Hiring of first female firefighter, Melanie Anderson. Anderson would rise through the ranks and retire as a division chief.
• 1988 – The first collective bargaining labor agreement between the Peoria Firefighters and the city of Peoria under Mayor Jim Maloof.

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