At FDIC International 2021, Doug Baker, Senior Vice President of Technology and Chief Innovation Officer, discusses what makes SoundOff Signal products different and safer. Blending tradition with technology by recognizing the need for lighting, controls, and science to come together.

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As the Keene (NH) Fire Department debates its options of what to do with its Hastings Avenue station, a feasibility study suggests the best route to take may be to raze it and start from the ground up, reports sentinelsource.com.

During a recent meeting, town council saw a presentation from Lavallee Brensinger Architects, a New England firm the city hired last year to renovate its Station Two. The presentation noted the building is outdated and would need a major overhaul to be brought up to code, the report says.

The report says that the station was deeded to Keene in 2018 from the N.H. Adjutant General’s Office. In 1958, when it was deeded to the N.H. Army National Guard, there was a clause noting that the property would be returned to the city if the National Guard no longer needed it.

Related: Keene (NH) Fire Department Receives New Apparatus

The station has been in use by the city since 1998, and Keene officials have long known it needs work. Lavallee Brensinger was hired in December to weigh the town’s options.

Though the design work in the presentation was preliminary, it includes a community room and public lobby, living quarters for firefighters, and a large bay for apparatus. There are no plans to build in the wetlands on the property.

The project, including the demolition of the current station, is estimated to cost around $7.5 million, which includes a 10% contingency budget.

Late last week, city officials announced the City of Niagara Falls (NY) Fire Department (NFFD) was awarded an Assistance to Firefighters Grant totaling $314,718, reports wnypapers.com.

The department will use the funds to purchase 36 new self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBA), as well as a filling station for the devices. The department’s existing SCBA are 20 years old and scheduled to expire under existing safety standards this year.

The department’s air-filling station was more than 25 years old and recently broke, requiring crew members to take their tanks to a North Tonawanda fire station for filling.

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The City of Marion (IN) recently announced that it has purchased a 2019 Rosenbauer fire engine.

The state-of-the-art apparatus was needed to update the Marion Fire Department’s (MFD) fleet, officials say. It’s capable of flowing up to 1,500 gallons of water per minute and has foam capabilities to thwart petroleum fires.

In addition, the apparatus features a passenger-side rearview camera; front-positioned, passenger-side mirror; and a mechanical ladder unloader to assist firefighters during emergencies.

The engine will at first be used to train MFD crews and will then be put into service once the remaining equipment arrives—about 30-45 days.