WEST NEWBURY — Chief Michael Dwyer is pleased to announce that the West Newbury Fire Department is one of nearly 300 fire departments across the state to have been awarded a grant as part of the Department of Fire Services Fiscal Year 2021 Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant Program.

The $10,000 grant awarded to the West Newbury Fire Department will be used to support the replacement of the town’s current vehicle extrication rescue equipment, which is more than 20 years old.

“We’re very thankful for this funding, which will allow us to purchase a much needed upgrade to life saving equipment,” Chief Dwyer said. “Technology has changed greatly over the past 20 years and this equipment is a key asset to ensuring we are able to assist people swiftly and effectively in emergencies like motor vehicle crashes.”

The West Newbury Fire Department also recognizes that these investments are ultimately citizen funded and strives to always use any funding available to best serve and protect the community. 

This program enables fire departments to purchase a variety of equipment that will make firefighters’ jobs safer. The $4 million awarded to departments statewide is part of a $25 million bond bill filed by the Baker-Polito Administration to support firefighter health and safety over the next five years.

Fire departments in Massachusetts were able to apply to this program for 114 different types of eligible equipment, including personal protective clothing, gear washers and dryers, thermal imaging cameras, assorted hand tools and extrication equipment, communications resources, hazardous gas meters, fitness equipment and more.

“Investing in the short-term and long-term health and safety of firefighters has been a hallmark of the Baker-Polito Administration,” said State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey. “I am grateful that we are able to continue supporting this initiative and make sure that firefighters not only go home safe at the end of every shift, but also that they maintain their health during and after their careers. This funding couldn’t come at a better time either. With the financial challenges that COVID-19 has brought to so many Massachusetts municipalities, this grant funding will mitigate critical budget gaps in many departments.”

A complete list of the awards by department can be found here.

The City of Boise is planning to replace its oldest fire station, reports Boise Dev.

The 1950s station serves downtown Boise, logging more calls than any other fire station in Idaho. The project is in preliminary stages of conceptual design. The city plans to tear down the aging station and replace it with a new building and build an affordable housing development.

The expansion would allow the station to have a special room with ventilation to store the equipment firefighters wear on the scene of fires to protect them from carcinogens and a separate room for tools to do building and vehicle repairs.

Officials said firefighters who work in the fire station have a lot of sentimental attachment to the building, but they understand the need for an upgrade. To honor the history of the building, the new design will feature a display outside the building about Boise Fire Department history

Demers Braun Crestline (DBC), a subsidiary of Demers Braun Ambulance manufacturer, announced that it has recently completed the acquisition of Medix Specialty Vehicles, a full-line, final-stage ambulance manufacturer headquartered in Elkhart, IN, for an undisclosed financial consideration. The transaction is not subject to further regulatory approvals.

Through this transformational transaction, DBC further strengthens its global market leadership position in ambulance manufacturing, now employing more than 1,140 talented individuals working across 12 different production and service center sites across North America.

“With today’s acquisition, we continue to make significant strides toward our vision of being the partner of choice for the Emergency Medical Services providers across the United States and the world, offering the very best in vehicles and customer care across all market segments,” said Kim Braun, President, U.S. Operations. “I wish to extend a very warm welcome to each of the nearly 200 new colleagues joining DBC and look forward to working very closely with Greg Rusk, the entire Medix team, and the Medix dealer network to better support our customers toward the achievement of their objectives–and most importantly, saving lives.”

“I am sincerely delighted with this transformational acquisition. The Medix addition expands and reinforces our brand portfolio while increasing our competitive position and reach among ambulance manufacturers across North America and in the over 40 countries we now serve,” said Alain Brunelle, President and Chief Executive Officer of Demers Braun Crestline. “As a natural next step following the merger between Demers and Braun in early 2018 and the Crestline acquisition in Western Canada later that same year, today’s transaction reaffirms our position as the reference for ambulance innovation in the market. This acquisition could not have happened without the continued support from our financial partners at Clearspring and CDPQ, and I wish to thank them for their vision and commitment.”

“On behalf of our employees, clients and partners from around the world, I would like to thank Alain, Kim and the entire DBC leadership team. We take great pride in combining forces and joining an organization with such an extraordinary legacy, reputation and recognition for excellence. This is a winning transaction for our customers and employees alike,” said Greg Rusk, Chief Executive Officer of Medix Specialty Vehicles.

Through its strong and diversified portfolio of Demers Braun Crestline brands, the Company operates six production and service center sites across North America and employs close to 1,000 people. Each year, Demers Braun Crestline combined brand sales position the company as the second largest ambulance manufacturer in North America. Its offering of ambulance products ranges from the price-conscious value ambulance to the very highly customized specialty vehicle. To learn more about how Demers Braun Crestline can help you save more lives, visit www.Demers-Ambulances.com, www.BraunAmbulances.com, and www.CrestlineCoach.com.

Medix Specialty Vehicles is an industry leader in the manufacturing of Type I, Type II and Type III ambulances serving both the private and fire service side of the industry. Since 2001, Medix grew rapidly and today employs more than 190 people, operates five manufacturing plants, dedicating more than 127,000 square feet to modular production, paint, R&D, special projects and efficient Type II production. Me

When spec’ing its new Heavy Rescue, Miami-Dade, FL Fire Rescue chose a 26-foot stainless steel SVI body mounted on a 20-inch raised-roof Sutphen 73-inch chassis, which houses a 500 HP Cummins X12 engine.

This walk-in rescue apparatus comes with an interior walk-in area with bench seat, SCUBA tank bracket and cargo-netted cabinet storage.

The truck is also equipped with an Onan Protec 25-watt PTO Generator System, Command Light CL Series light tower, street- and curbside Carefree Mirage Roll-Out patio awnings, SlideMaster structural steel slideout trays, OnScene Solutions LED compartment lighting and much more.

For full specs, drawings and photos, visit http://bit.ly/miami-dade-1148.

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