A fire truck highlights the items that will be up for sale on October 23 at Allegheny County (PA) Airport Authority’s annual auction at the Heavy Equipment Building on Cargo Road, reports triblive.com.

The auction, starting at 10 a.m., is for two years’ worth of items left behind at Pittsburgh International Airport. In addition to the fire truck, nine abandoned vehicles, runway brooms, plows, nearly 1,000 pieces of jewelry, and more will be up for bid, the report says.

Doors open at 8:30 a.m., two food trucks—Divine Swine and Steel City Fries—will be on hand, and masks are required, according to the report.

The 2019 auction—the last one held in person, due to COVID—saw a former Allegheny County Bomb Squad truck sold for $8,500. 2020’s virtual auction had a 2012 Chevy Silverado sell for more than $18,000, a 2018 Camaro go for $26,000, and a 2006 Nissan Murano for $1,100, the report says.

Certain items will be available for bidding online at joerpyleauctions.com.

The Madison (AL) Fire and Rescue Department is working with Partnership for a Drug-Free Community an atypical fundraiser, the Pullin’ for Partnership – Fire Truck Challenge, reports themadisonrecord.com. It will happen on October 26 from 3 to 6 p.m. in Madison City Schools Stadium’s parking lot, 211 Celtic Drive.

In the challenge, 10-member teams will pull a 46,000-pound fire truck via rope for 50 feet, the report says. Trophies will be presented for fastest/slowest pulls, team spirit, and top fundraising.

The team registration fee is $250, and corporate sponsorships are available. Donations to Partnership are tax-deductible, and all proceeds will go directly to Partnership for a Drug-Free Community’s programs, according to the report. The registration deadline is October 15.

The event will be livestreamed on Facebook. More information can be found here.

The Occum (CT) Volunteer Fire Department has been awarded a $100,000 state grant to cover building upgrade projects, reports theday.com. However, city officials want to study the project further before accepting the money.

City council plans to vet the project and then vote on a recommendation at its October 18 meeting, the report says.

The grant, from the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, would cover renovations including handicapped-accessible bathrooms only on the first floor, refurbishing the second-story meeting room floor, new entrance doors, and a new exterior sign to highlight upcoming events and public safety alerts, officials say.

The grant does not require a matching share from the city or the fire department, and the work was not included in this year’s city capital improvements budget, the report says.

After almost two decades of working out of a three-stall barn, the Sioux Center (IA) Fire Department is opening its new $1.3 million Station 2, reports ktiv.com. But there’s more sentiment behind it than just new working quarters.

Station 2’s main designer was Fire Chief Dave Van Holland’s son, Jason. He served in the department from age 16 until 36, when he unexpectedly passed in February 2021 due to an enlarged heart, the report says. The department has a memorial in his honor in the new station, as well as a center outside that honors all the fallen firefighters from Sioux Center.

An open house is scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, October 7 from 5:30-7 p.m. The department will be serving hamburgers and hotdogs and giving the public an inside look at the new station, located at 1510 South Main Ave.

Station 2 is more than 7,200 square feet and can house up to four engines. It includes a new open locker gear room, a wash bay, a museum room home to the department’s 1931 REO fire truck, and a quicker response time.

It took nearly two years to complete and was funded by the City of Sioux Center, community donations, and the Sioux Center Fire Department.

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Sioux Center (IA) Gets Funding for Fire Station Project
Sioux Center (IA) Fire Department to Hold Open House for Station 2 on Oct. 7
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