The Kingsport Fire Department is getting ready to roll out two new pieces of equipment, wcyb.com reported.

The department recently took delivery of two brand new Pierce Velocity fire engines.

A fire official said crews have been in the process of installing necessary equipment, like hoses and air tanks, the report said.

News 5 learned the price-tag on the engines totaled over $700,000 each, and older vehicles are slated to be retired, according to the report.

Voters in the Boles Fire Protection District will decide the fate of an $8 million bond issue on April 4, emissourian.com reported. 

If voters approve the measure, known as Proposition Fire, taxpayers would not see an increase in their taxes and the district would be able to replace aging equipment, address longstanding maintenance issues at the four fire stations in the district and purchase equipment upgrades for firefighters, according to a fire official.

The district would look to buy between two or three new pumper trucks, two or three new smaller brush fire trucks, and one or two new water tankers, the report said.  

Proposition Fire would also allow the district to address some maintenance issues at each of the four fire stations, which were last renovated in the early 2000s, according to the report. 

Of the voters casting a ballot for the April 4 election, Proposition Fire will need to receive four-sevenths of all votes cast in order to pass, the report said. 

A MO fire truck almost encountered a head-on collision on a rural highway Friday afternoon.

According to a Facebook post by the Ebenezer Fire Protection District, the fire truck was traveling north on H Highway just north of State Highway AA after the crew had responded to a medical call.

“Our truck was traveling 53 mph in a 55 mph zone when it had to defensively avoid a head-on collision from a car passing traffic in the other lane. With your volume up, you can hear the screeching tires as this was very close to a collision!

“If you witnessed this incident or have any information on this vehicle please feel free to pass it along to us.

“This a reminder to always pay attention and drive safe!”

Dan Sokil
The Reporter
(TNS)

Mar. 23—UPPER GWYNEDD — Where could a new fire station for the Upper Gwynedd Township Fire Department go? And are there other options the department and township should consider?

The answers to those questions are coming into focus, with key recommendations made in a study presented to the township’s commissioners on Tuesday night.

“If you’re going to build a fire station, it’s a very sizable investment, in terms of money and time. And you want to make sure, before you do that, our first recommendation is that you reach out to your neighbors, to make sure that there either is, or isn’t, any interest in having a regional approach to fire protection” said longtime firefighter and study author Robert Hedden.

“You should really communicate, on a governmental level, with the surrounding townships and boroughs to see if there’s any interest in a regional fire department,” he said.

In March 2022 the fire company’s leadership asked the township commissioners to approve a study examining options for a new station, citing aging infrastructure, a need for more space, and stricter standards for equipment, training, and maintenance at their current station, located on Garfield Avenue and parts of which date as far back as 1942.

At that time the company said they were looking at several possible sites for a new station, and later that month the commissioners approved a contract with the state Governor’s Center for Local Government Services to perform a study. Officials from the center visited the township in August, and in January 2023 the township said the study was under final vetting.

That study was finally presented on Tuesday night by Hedden, a longtime Montgomery Township firefighter now with the Governor’s Center, who summarized the 30-page report to the township commissioners. In a series of meetings and in-person visits, the study group gathered data from the fire company and township staff about their service area, calls, staffing, and the sites they’re considering for a potential new station.

“They suggested several sites, and we included also the existing site, in case there was just some reason that it was determined the fire department should continue to operate out of there,” Hedden said.

Consider regionalizing

Prior to making a decision on a new station, the expert told the board, his recommendation is that the township and fire company consider options for regionalizing, due to issues seen across the state with firefighters aging out of local departments and few new recruits.

“If you go through that process, and it’s determined that yes, there is (interest), then we’re available to come back and do a regional fire study. Or if there isn’t, then we have a recommendation where the ideal station would be, in Upper Gwynedd, based on the sites we were asked to evaluate,” Hedden said.

Four locations were vetted by the study: the current fire station site on the 600 block of Garfield Avenue, a site on the 1600 block of West Point Pike, and two adjacent sites at the intersection of Allentown Road and Sumneytown Pike on the west and east corners. The study first eliminated the West Point Pike site due to its location within a floodplain zone, and based on several criteria spelled out in the report, including access to main roads and the rest of the township, the study commission honed in on one site.

“We suggest that the best location out of the sites would be the west corner of Allentown and Sumneytown Pike, it’s an 11.8-acre lot,” Hedden said.

“The location is optimal: it’s nearly centrally lo