According to a report from The San Pedro Sun, what was originally supposed to be a one-time occurrence, delivering a donated fire truck to Caye Caulker in November 2017, has now become an ongoing project. During this time, several other trucks, ambulances, and emergency equipment have been donated to Belizean communities by the U.S. and Canada.

It all started in 2013 when former Ohio firefighter James E. York III visited Caye Caulker in 2013 and formed a connection with former fire station Chief Miguel Matus. York saw that the department had a huge need for a quality fire truck. Almost four years later, York successfully delivered a fire truck to La Isla Cariñosa.

York said that, after his January 2013 visit, he began discussions with Matus about acquiring a proper fire truck. York and members of his church, Beechwold Christian, looked at ways of acquiring the truck. After he was successful, one year later, the U.S. Air Force’s Denton Program, which allows U.S based nongovernmental organizations to transport humanitarian aid, assisted by flying the truck to Belize in a C-17 Globemaster aircraft.

Afterward, York started working on acquiring three additional trucks, one of which was sent to San Pedro Town in 2018 following a series of devastating fires. York said that he was also directly involved in the successful delivery of two additional trucks, one for Punta Gorda Town and and another for Ladyville, north of Belize City.

Read more HERE

(Image of Belize flag found on Wikimedia Commons courtesy of Caleb Moore.)

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According to a report from KRTV, on Tuesday night, the Great Falls, Montana, City Commission gave Great Falls Fire Rescue (GFFR) the “green light” to apply for a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant worth $1.17 million. If approved, the money will be put toward a new 107-foot aerial apparatus, e.g., ladder truck, to replace the GFFR’s current 1996 75-foot Smeal Quint.

The estimated cost for the aerial is $1.25 million, plus an additional $50,000, which GFFR says will go toward additional equipment.

GFFR Chief Jeremy Jones said that the National Fire Protection Association recommends replacing aerial apparatuses after 25 years on the road, and their current truck is as 26.

The city of Great Falls will pay for the $130,000 discrepancy between the grant amount and the projected total cost. City documents revealed that the use of the vehicle that GFFR wants to replace has been deterred by cost and service issues.

Jones said the new truck would be a single rear-axle truck, allowing the maneuverability the GFFR’s current platform does not have.

He expects to find out in September or October if the grant will be awarded.

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According to a report from Statesville.com, a contentious exchange occurred between a Statesville, North Carolina, resident and a city council member during this past Monday night’s meeting over the new location of the Statesville Fire Department’s (SFD) Fire Station 1.

City Manager Ron Smith said that the move was about the city’s fire coverage as a whole, not for just one area.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Micah Phelps said he was speaking on behalf of people in the Larkin area of Statesville, saying the residents were promised that the station’s location would be on Amity Hill Road. Phelps continued to say that he and others believed that, when the Larkin area agreed to be annexed by the city, a firehouse near that vicinity was promised. Smith wrote in an email on Tuesday that he didn’t know of any agreement or promise that a fire station would be built in that area, but Fire Station 1’s new location, on Meeting Street to Wilson Lee Boulevard, will provide better coverage around the Larkin Golf Club and adjacent areas.

Smith and the city council also said the city’s fire coverage would be lessened if the stationed was on Amity Hill Road, and the location on Wilson Lee Boulevard would not result in longer response times than the previous Amity Hill location.

Councilwoman Doris Allison said that even as she and Councilman Frederick Foster were debating with the council over the previous Amity Hill location, they didn’t hear anyone from Larkin in regards to the council considering the move to Wilson Lee.

Then there was an exchange of unpleasantries, with Phelps saying he would “fire” Allison, and Allison responding by telling Phelps to “Get out.”

On Tuesday, Allison accused Phelps’ of “bullying,” which is why she said she responded how she did.

Foster also spoke positively of the new station location, although he also had once opposed it. Foster said he had met with SFD Chief Andy Weatherman to discuss the issue and was convinced the move made sense for the entire city.

Councilman John Staford said previous councils were told the Amity Hill location was “detrimental” to fire coverage. The council then approved starting the process for the design and construction of a new Fire Station 1 building at the Wilson Lee location.

Eventually, the council voted 5-3 to fund it out its Unassigned Fund Balance. 

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