Maddie Pfeifer
Corvallis Gazette-Times, Ore.
(TNS)

Mar. 9—A little rain didn’t stop the Corvallis Fire Department from celebrating its newest fire engine.

Firefighters and city representatives gathered at the downtown station Thursday, March 9 to reflect on the newest apparatus which combines the past, present and future all at once.

“It’s definitely exciting,” Fire Chief Ben Janes said. “It’s great for the community and for our firefighters to work on.”

The bell

The new engine is especially meaningful since it will feature a bell — something that all engines used to have before sirens were added.

Retired Captain Bill Albright spoke on the history and legacy of the bell to fire departments. Albright was hired as a volunteer firefighter in 1962 and hired full time in 1964 before retiring in 1991. Albright’s father was also a firefighter with CFD.

Albright said the bell did what the sirens do today.

“They rang the bell to let the community know they were on the way,” he said.

He added that as time went on, the bell became more of a symbolic item, with crews ringing the bell in memory of firefighters who died.

While the new fire engine’s bell isn’t replacing sirens, it will serve an important purpose going forward. Janes said firefighters who retire from the Fire Department can choose to have their name engraved on the bell of the engine they worked on.

Pushing it in

Instead of driving the engine into the apparatus bay, the firefighters literally pushed it in. This is a nod to firefighters physically pushing their horse-drawn engines into storage because the horses couldn’t back-in.

“In honor of those early crews, we’re going to push it into the bay,” Janes said.

All firefighters present gathered together and pushed the engine while Albright sat in the cab.

Onlookers cheered as the fire personnel made the effort look easy.

Looking to the future

The new engine features the bell from the past but will also hopefully aid crews for years to come.

Sustainability is important for the Fire Department and its future, Janes said, and the new vehicle has a feature where it will shut down its motor whenever it can to cut down on emissions.

“When we build the engines, we try to think years ahead,” Janes said. “It’s built with the future in mind.”

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Maddie Pfeifer covers public safety for Mid-Valley Media. She can be contacted at 541-812-6091 or Madison.Pfeifer@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter via @maddiepfeifer_

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Mike LaBella
The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
(TNS)

Mar. 9—HAVERHILL — A report from a consulting agency on the short- and long-term needs of the city’s fire department outlines 23 recommendations, including spending $2.5 million annually for new employees, purchasing and staffing a new $1.6 million ladder truck and building a new $20 million fire station.

The report includes suggestions for increasing protection of the community, enhancing the safety of firefighter personnel and improving emergency response times.

When the city council met Tuesday night, Joe Pozzo from the Center for Public Safety Management presented a slide-show overview of his organization’s 159-page Haverhill Fire/EMS data analysis study, which Mayor James Fiorentini had commissioned at a cost of $50,000.

Pozzo, who spoke remotely, told the council that his group has conducted more than 400 of these types of in-depth studies for communities in 46 states and Canada.

“You have a very, very good fire department with some very dedicated personnel,” Pozzo added. “I visited with them, I went to each one of your fire stations … I went to your call stations and I saw them in person, I saw them working.”

The report indicated the city’s fire maintenance budget is adequate and should be maintained or enhanced, the city should continue with its fleet replacement plan, strengthen all current mutual aid agreements and consider designating a finance liaison to work with the HFD grants committee.

Following Pozzo’s presentation, Fire Chief Robert O’Brien said the report contains recommendations his department has long been asking for, particularly adding personnel, which he said is his top priority, followed by a new fire station and the need for an assistant fire chief.

“Those options are left to us, the community, and have to be discussed here,” he said.

Councilor Shaun Toohey asked O’Brien if he was happy with the report and if considered it to be biased, indicating the firefighter union had expressed concerns that it might be.

“I’m happy that Chief Pozzo and his associates dealt with us honestly and truly listened to all the information we could provide,” O’Brien said, adding that Pozzo and his group did not come to the city to make him happy.

The council voted unanimously to send the report to the public safety committee for study and to send a letter to the city’s legislative delegation to look into the possibility of acquiring land off Route 97 for a new station.

Near-term (1 to 3 years) recommendations

Consider assigning one additional firefighter per shift to the High Street Station engine company (four total). Estimated annual cost of $450,372.

For the city to consider hiring an assistant fire chief (it now has five deputy fire chiefs) at an estimated annual cost of a new external hire of $144,657, or promoting from within at an estimated annual cost of $172,580, which would include the cost of resulting internal promotions.

“I’m in discussions with the mayor as far as an assistant chief … it’s long overdue,” O’Brien said.

Develop a plan to refurbish fire trucks when they reach 15 years in service and replacing them at the 25-year mark, and for the city to continue its plan to purchase a fire boat for the Water Street station, with no additional staffing needed.

Midterm (3 to 5 years) recommendations

That the city consider assigning one additional firefighter position (four total) to the Water Street engine company at an annual cost of $450,372.

The report recommends that if the city goes to a civilian dispatch, firefighters should be taken out of dispatch and put back at fire stations.

“This is the pl

Renatta Signorini
Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
(TNS)

Mar. 8—Jeannette firefighters got an exercise equipment upgrade Tuesday thanks to a donation from Planet Fitness’ location behind the Westmoreland Mall.

The cardio equipment will be a great addition to the department’s new fire station, but until it’s built, one piece will be available in the current location while the other two are put in storage, Capt. Joe Matijevic said. As one of three full-time paid firefighters in the department, he likes to get a workout in between calls.

“It’s important for the job, you have to stay loose,” he said.

Planet Fitness donated an Arc Trainer, elliptical and a spin bicycle. The three items were leftover after the gym updated fitness equipment, spokesman Patrick Lloyd said.

“The club manager felt it would be appropriate to donate some equipment that hadn’t been in use for a while in order to help local first responders,” he said.

Matijevic said he works out at that Planet Fitness location and connected with management about the donation. The fire station has minimal workout equipment, including an outdated elliptical and weights. Right now, one person can use it at a time, he said.

Matijevic hopes to find other workout equipment donation opportunities as the city works through the design and construction of the new station, which will allow additional space for exercise.

The fire department received a federal grant last year to build a new station on city-owned property next door to the current South Second Street location.

The $1.2 million grant will replace the station, which is connected to city hall, that was built in 1927 and has sewage problems, black mold, termites and asbestos.

The new station will be big enough to hold all of the department’s trucks. Currently, fire trucks are stored in three locations.

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta by email at rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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Erica Smith
The Decatur Daily, Ala.
(TNS)

Mar. 8—ATHENS — Mayor Ronnie Marks’ vision for the city includes two new fire stations and other projects to handle Athens’ rapid population growth, but his outline of plans for Sunrise Park resonated with several people attending his State of the City speech Tuesday.

Marks also discussed improving the Vine Street area.

Jennifer White, 70, of Athens, said after Marks’ speech that she can’t wait for Sunrise Park to be operational, especially the dog park that will be within it.

“I want to see all of it, but I met with the group that had ideas about the park, and the dog park was a big deal,” she said.

The city plans to construct the park in phases on a 32.67-acre property near Pryor Street and Sussex Drive that once was a chicken processing plant. Construction of the first phase will begin this spring.

Marks said phase one will be the children’s area, including a playground and a splash pad. He said there will be a parking lot where food trucks can set up. The first phase is slated to be completed in late spring or early summer 2024, Marks said.

“When we get phase one completed, get it started, then we’ll start the other part,” Marks said. “Maybe even toward the dog park, the green space, and just keep putting it together.”

John Wilson, 37, from unincorporated Limestone County, attended the State of the City program and said he was excited about Sunrise Park. He said he looks forward to taking his two young sons to the park.

Wilson said he was most excited about “the trails, walking, and the boys of course will love the playground and the splash pad. Right now, we have to go to Decatur to go to a splash pad; there’ll be one right here.”

The Athens-Limestone County Chamber of Commerce held the State of the City breakfast in Athens State University’s Carter Gymnasium on Tuesday morning. Marks discussed numerous projects for the city, which has seen its population grow from 21,897 in 2010 to an estimated 27,027 in 2021.

“With the growth that we have (comes) opportunities, but it also is a lot of challenges,” Marks said. “Public safety is our number one priority, that means we’re going to need, at least in the next few years, two new fire stations.”

Marks said one location the city is planning on for a new fire station would be in the Tanner Crossroads area at Huntsville Brownsferry Road and U.S. 31. Marks said he would like it to contain an ambulance and police bay. The other station will be near the Athens Sportsplex and is already in the works.

“We’ve already worked with an architect, we’ve got to redesign it, get what we want, build what we want, and find the land; (I’d) like it to be there close to the new high school,” Marks said. “I hope that we’ll have the architect plans back to the City Council in the next three to four months. And then you’re talking about a building, probably 12 to 14 months, so you’re talking about fall of 2024 (for completion).”

Marks said he doesn’t know what the fire stations will cost because the work has not been put out for bid. However, he estimated the first station might be between $3.5 million and $5 million.

White said she appreciates that city officials are planning.

“I like the fact that the city is looking forward,” she said. “We have City Council members, Limestone County commissioners and they’re always looking forward.”

Dolph Bradford, 56, Athens Street Department director, attended the program and said he is doing a lot of the work at Sunrise Park.

“The park will be nice,” he said. “The added businesses and retail, restau