The city of Jacksonville broke ground Tuesday on a new fire station that will have a big impact on the area, jdnews.com reported.

Jacksonville Mayor Sammy Phillips and the Jacksonville City Council held the groundbreaking ceremony at the new site for Jacksonville Fire Station 4, located at 1252 Marketplace Drive. The 5.11-acre plot is city-owned land, part of Jacksonville Commons, and has been cleared in preparation for construction, according to a Monday news release from the city.

The release said the city council allocated the acreage for the new fire station to provide a central service location and to gain easy access to Western Boulevard with the goal of continuing to provide swift emergency response to residents.

Fire Station 4 will have a similar footprint to Fire Station 2, which is located across from Jacksonville High School, the release added. The project has a total cost of about $8 million, Phillips said at Tuesday’s groundbreaking and is expected to be complete in the spring.

Kayla Tucker
Grand Haven Tribune, Mich.
(TNS)

Feb. 21—After deciding to purchase a new fire truck, the Spring Lake Fire Department is now in the process of selling its old one.

“We believe the best time to look at selling our older pumper, the one that’s being replaced, is probably now,” said Gordon Gallagher, Spring Lake Township Manager, at last week’s board meeting. “The other benefit is we have time so we can ask a little bit more for it and if we’re successful in getting a little bit more, great, and if not, we can look at changing the price consideration.”

Deputy Fire Chief and board member Jim Koster said he’s hopeful the truck can be sold for somewhere between $85,000 and $90,000, or else they probably won’t sell it.

“It’s worth selling today at that price,” Koster said. “If we can’t get that price, then it’s not worth selling it.”

A couple board members raised the question: why are we selling our old truck before we have the new one?

The township currently has three fire trucks, so the loss of Engine 1722 would leave two trucks available.

“Used equipment is hot, there’s a market for it. We think taking advantage of that market is a good thing,” Koster said. “It’s in really good shape right now so let’s not wait a year and a half. We feel, with Crockery Township and Ferrysburg, we can support Spring Lake well in the short term.”

The three departments are part of an “auto-aid” system, meaning they all respond automatically to all calls together.

If the truck is not sold soon and sits around for a year, Koster said, it will likely be donated or sold at a very lower price.

“Old pumpers aren’t really worth much,” Koster said. “Except for in this market right now, there’s a lot of places that need equipment and can’t afford million-dollar pumpers.”

The board then approved the listing of the truck for sale through company FireTec.

The township board recently approved the nearly $1 million purchase of a new fire truck, with delivery not expected until 2024.

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(c)2023 the Grand Haven Tribune (Grand Haven, Mich.)

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Fire departments in Western Pennsylvania will be reimbursed by Norfolk Southern for the costs of replacing all equipment contaminated after the East Palestine train derailment, according to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, wtae.com reported.

“Those first responders answered the call,” said Shapiro during Tuesday’s new conference from the East Palestine community center.

According to a release from the governor’s office, The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and the Office of the State Fire Commissioner are reaching out directly to local fire departments to help streamline submissions to the Norfolk Southern claims director, the report said.

• FAQ about the Norfolk Southern Train Derailment

Special Delivery | Alan M. Petrillo

The Earleigh Heights (MD) Volunteer Fire Company had a 2000 walk-around rescue truck that had a lot of miles on it and a lot of heavy use, which necessitated its replacement.

The department wanted to replace it with a vehicle that had more storage space as well as inside space to carry firefighters and use in cold weather rehab. The department chose SVI Trucks to build its new heavy technical rescue.

Dave Crawford, Earleigh Heights chief, says the department has three major state highways running through its coverage area—Routes 2, 10, and 100—which means firefighters respond to a lot of motor vehicle accidents and vehicle extrications.

“Our station covers not only our own district, but we are on box assignments for seven miles around in all directions,” Crawford observes. “We border on the Severn River, so we wanted a rescue with more space on it to hold all of our technical rescue equipment, and the firefighters wanted a walk-in body that was more conducive to cold weather rehab where they could get out of the elements.”

Jim Featherstone, the co-owner of Red Storm Fire and Rescue Apparatus, who sold the rescue to Earleigh Heights, says that while SVI has a strong relationship with Spartan and Sutphen, it will build a truck on any chassis the fire department wants. “Earleigh Heights wanted their heavy technical rescue built on a Seagrave chassis, which is what we did,” Featherstone says. “The build was a smooth process, even though it was Red Storm’s first experience in dealing with a Seagrave chassis.”

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