The Brewton City Council approved $668,000 Monday for the purchase of a new fire engine for the fire department to replace a 25-year-old engine still in service, brewtonstandard.com reported.

“This will be a much needed addition to our fleet! Stay tuned for pictures in the near future as customization nears completion. We would like to thank the City Council for their continued commitment to public safety,” according to a Brewton Fire Department Facebook post.

A city official said the delivery of the 2023 fully-equipped truck would take 45-60 days, according to the report.

A fire official said the price of the stock truck was the best he had seen, the report said.

The Atlantic City Fire Department has added a brand-new fire truck to the fleet, the department’s fourth new apparatus in the last four years, the city announced in a news release. Engine 3 will primarily serve Atlantic City’s Westside and Venice Park neighborhoods.

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small, Sr., ACFD Chief Scott Evans, ACFD Union President John Varallo and members of the ACFD, as per tradition when a new apparatus enters the fleet, pushed Engine 3 into Fire Station 3 at Indiana and Grant Avenues, where the truck will be stationed.

“The men and women of the Atlantic City Fire Department can expect more reliability with this new engine,” said Chief Evans. “Having that confidence that your equipment will work well in an emergency situation goes a long way. We just want to thank Mayor Small who, since taking over office, has made sure this department has the necessary tools to properly do our jobs and protect Atlantic City.”

Engine 3 was built 18 months ago and replaces a 20-year-old engine. The ACFD is expecting three additional new engines to be delivered in the coming months.

By Alan M. Petrillo

Hagerstown-Jefferson Township (IN) Volunteer Fire Department, a small fire department in a rural Indiana community, was having difficulty staffing its apparatus during the day, a situation that many volunteer fire departments around the country are experiencing. The department needed to replace its walk-in rescue truck, and one of its engines was getting elderly, so it decided to combine two trucks into one and buy a new rescue-pumper. The department chose Toyne to build that truck.

Rick Cole, Hagerstown-Jefferson Township’s chief, points out that when the department responds to motor vehicle accidents it has to run two rigs, its rescue and a pumper to the call, but with the new Toyne rescue-pumper, it only has to staff a single vehicle. “Our new Toyne rescue-pumper carries all the rescue equipment that we had on the old rescue, like our TNT hosed hydraulic extrication tools, a cutter, spreader, two rams and a combi tool, and also our Holmatro struts,” Cole says.

Jeff Murray, fire truck salesman for Donley Safety, who sold the Toyne rescue-pumper to Hagerstown-Jefferson Township, says the rig is built on a Spartan Metro Star LFD chassis and cab with a 10-inch raised roof and seating for six firefighters, five of them in SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus) seats. The rescue-pumper is powered by a 400-horsepower (hp) Cummins L9 diesel engine and an Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission, and has a Waterous CS 1,250-gallon per minute (gpm) pump, a UPF Poly® 750-gallon water tank, a 25-gallon foam cell, and a FoamPro 2001 Class A foam proportioning system.

Cole says one of the department’s objectives was to make the rescue-pu

Bulldog Fire Apparatus Inc. announced the launch and operations of a major refurb and repair center in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania, utilizing the former KME Fire Apparatus factory facilities and will specialize in the refurbishment of apparatus, specializing in aerial ladder devices, with the capability to perform all fabrication, paint, and fit and finish along with providing wiring harness fabrication operation and full graphics department. This facility will also perform upfitting and equipment mounting of new apparatus prior to delivery.

“Bulldog Fire Apparatus is one of the largest KME dealers and in my 17 years with Bulldog, I have enjoyed visiting the Nesquehoning facility many times. Each time, I was struck by the dedication, pride, and quality of the KME workforce. Finding qualified, technically skilled people in today’s market is very challenging.” said Bulldog President Jeffrey Mazza. At the time of this release, Bulldog has already hired 35 employees and will continue to ramp up as business grows utilizing the existing firetruck experience in the local area.

Furthermore, the market is facing unprecedented pressure from the chassis shortage and other supply chain issues. It is a difficult time in the Fire/EMS industry with departments being hit by inflation and budget constraints. With long lead times and increasing costs, departments are being forced to run rigs longer and face slower replacement cycles. To offer our customer relationships full chassis off Refurbishment and Repair of existing units is a necessary alternative to keep their fleets operating efficiently.

“Leveraging the workforce, we can hit the ground running. Combining their expertise with plant, tools, and equipment will allow us to restore more fire apparatus to like-new condition than ever before. Moreover, we will have the capacity to take on additional specialty truck projects that other OEMs cannot. It’s a win-win for us. We genuinely look forward to working with the Nesquehoning community to better serve first responders nationwide” Bulldog President Jeff Mazza stated

For more information about Bulldog Fire Apparatus, please visit our website www.BulldogFireApparatus.com.

About Bulldog Fire & Emergency Apparatus: Bulldog Fire & Emergency Apparatus was established in 1933 as a fire apparatus manufacturer. Over the years, the company evolved to represent other emergency vehicle manufacturers, including KME Fire Apparatus, Ferrara Fire Apparatus, Fouts Bros. Fire Apparatus, Ward Apparatus, Demers Ambulances, Braun Ambulances, Crestline Ambulances, and Osage Ambulances. Today, they are a one-stop shop from sales to service. They offer in-shop and on-site repair, preventative maintenance, custom fabrication, accident repair, body and paintwork, refurbishments, remounts, equipment mounting, aerial and pump testing, antique restoration, and graphics. To learn more about Bulldog Fire & Emergency Apparatus, visit www.BulldogFireApparatus.com.