The Reno Fire Department has a history dating back to 1888 when the first professional fire department was established. Some of the vehicles used by the department, dating back to the turn of the century, are now facing a threat, thisisreno.com reported. 

The Reno Fire Antique and Classic Apparatus Committee has at least seven classic firefighting vehicles, some of which date back to the early 1900s. Since the closure of the Reno Fire Museum, the members of the committee said the equipment has been shuffled from one warehouse to another, the report said. 

The rent for the warehouse where the vehicles are held is being raised by a multiple of at least three, the report said, and the cost is too much for the city, which still owns a majority of these machines and helps cover the cost of the lease. 

Along with the vehicles, they have a large collection of items, including the original bell that was used in the firehouse in 1888, the report said. Six vehicles are crammed in a warehouse. The largest is over 65 feet long and gathering dust because there is no place for it and the others to be displayed. 

If they don’t find a new place to store them, they might need to sell some of them off, according to the report. That risks never having them all be in the same place again. 

Jen Zettel-Vandenhouten
The Pine Journal, Cloquet, Minn.
(TNS)

Feb. 20—THE TOPIC — The Cloquet Area Fire District has asked the Minnesota Legislature for $10 million in bonds to put toward the construction of a new fire station.

BACKGROUND: Officials in the CAFD have talked about building a new fire station for the past six or seven years, said Chief Jesse Buhs. Legislators included a similar request from the CAFD in last year’s bonding bill, but a bonding bill was never passed.

The district’s headquarters (508 Cloquet Ave.) is aging and located on a site that restricts what the district can do with the building, Buhs said. Furthermore, infrastructure in the building is old and expensive to repair.

“It’s a need in my mind because of the age of our facility, because of the limitations it creates, of the significant maintenance and infrastructure issues that we’re having — everything from plumbing failures on a consistent basis to all of our heating and air conditioning components failing one piece at a time,” Buhs said. “We had taken a stance that essentially we were going to build a new facility, so we had put off a lot of major overhaul or consideration for a complete remodel and infrastructure repair in that building, but at some point we either have to do that or we have to build a new facility.”

The CAFD owns 13 acres next to Sappi Fine Paper, which is where officials would look to build a new station if the bonding request is approved.

Despite the need for a new station, Buhs said officials don’t want the burden to fall solely on local taxpayers.

“The understanding that the taxpayers are taxed pretty heavily already between all the city, county, state, federal taxes that they pay, and we don’t believe it’s reasonable at this time to look at local taxpayer dollars to fund a fire station project,” Buhs told the Cloquet Pine Journal.

Buhs said he wanted to make it clear that the district would not build a new station unless it receives bonds from the state.

“Until the funding component comes into place, there is not a plan to build a new facility at this time,” Buhs said.

If the CAFD’s bonding request is approved, the money would cover up to half the cost of a new facility. Since officials don’t want taxpayers to foot the bill, Buhs said one of his primary goals is finding new revenue streams to cover the remainder of the costs, including grants from federal, state and local agencies.

The $10 million figure also doesn’t mean the organization would build a $20 million facility.

“The $10 million ask is just a starting point and as we work our way through the bonding process,” he said. “As long as we stay included in their consideration, then we start to dive into the actual costs. … We just wanted to make sure we didn’t sell the taxpayers in our area short.

“If, for example, we would have asked for $5 million, and the total project cost was $11 or $12 million, we’re a million or two less than what we could have received from the state,” Buhs said.

WHAT’S NEXT: State Sen. Jason Rarick, R-Pine City, and Rep. Jeff Dotseth, R-Kettle River, have introduced legislation to grant the CAFD’s bonding request. The measures have been referred to the Capital Investment Committee, according to online records.

In the meantime, officials will have to wait and see how the bonding process plays out, Buhs said.

The Deep Dive is a monthly feature produced by Cloquet Pine Journal staff. Have an idea for a topic you want us to dive into? Email

news@pinejournal.com.

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(c)2023 The Pine Journal (Cloquet, Min

Paige Cornwell
The Seattle Times
(TNS)

Feb. 20—Redmond residents shouldn’t see much of a change when a new fire engine arrives in the Eastside city in a few years. The vehicle will still be fire-engine red, respond from the department’s Station 12 and blare its sirens for calls in southern Redmond neighborhoods.

Up close, they’ll be able to hear one key difference: The electric fire engine will be far quieter than the noise and vibrations that emit from a standard fire engine running on diesel.

But city officials are most excited about the unseen and unheard change. This new fire engine has zero emissions and will be the first of its kind in Washington and among the first throughout the U.S.

The Redmond City Council accepted a grant earlier this month from the Washington State Department of Ecology to buy a Pierce Volterra electric fire engine that will be ready in about two years. The grant covers about a fourth of the $2.3 million in costs for the vehicle and charging infrastructure.

The purchase falls under Redmond’s overall climate strategy, which includes a goal of carbon neutrality for city operations by 2030 and community-wide carbon neutrality by 2050.

“We want to be an industry leader in purchasing electric vehicles,” Redmond Fire Chief Adrian Sheppard said. “We hope that this spurs a lot of confidence in people.”

The ecology department’s grant program made $5 million available to replace diesel fire apparatuses with new electric ones. The grant is from a partnership between the Washington State Diesel Program and Volkswagen Settlement Grant Program, provided as part of a massive settlement from Volkswagen following allegations that the company violated the Clean Air Act.

The Seattle and Bellevue fire departments also submitted applications and are in the process of having their grant agreements completed, according to Molly Spiller, the Department of Ecology’s Volkswagen unit supervisor.

Spiller said fire vehicles are a logical choice for a zero-emission strategy. They can be in use for decades and take frequent trips, with lots of idling. An idling vehicle can contribute to a buildup of pollutants like carbon monoxide in fire stations, increasing the health risks for firefighters and other emergency workers.

The Volterra engine is built to order by Pierce Manufacturing, a Wisconsin-based company that boasts having built the first electric fire truck in service in North America. Sheppard and other city officials visited Madison, Wisconsin, which started using an electric engine last year to see what it was like, and said he felt confident that Redmond would also benefit from replacing its rig.

“All outward appearances looked exactly the same, and it would be very minimal in terms of what we would have to adjust to, of placement of tools and equipment,” he said.

Other cities including Los Angeles and Portland have added or plan to add electric fire trucks to their fleets.

Redmond will add a charging station to Station 12, which serves the city’s Overlake, Viewpoint, Grass Lawn and Rose Hill neighborhoods. A full charge takes about 90 minutes, according to Pierce Manufacturing, and the vehicle also has a backup diesel engine.

Spiller pointed to the movement toward electric school buses and how more and more aging buses are being replaced by electric models. The same could happen for emergency fleets, she said.

“We are really excited to see the momentum building,” she said.

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(c)2023 The Seattle Times

Visit The Seattle Times at www.seattletimes.co

The new 4×4 ARFF vehicle represents the first Oshkosh Airport Products apparatus in Grand Canyon West Airport’s fleet

APPLETON, WIS. (February 22, 2023) – Oshkosh Airport Products, a division of Pierce Manufacturing Inc., and a subsidiary of Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK), announced Grand Canyon West Airport, located northwest of Peach Springs in Mohave County, Arizona, has taken delivery of its first Oshkosh® Airport Products Striker® 4×4 ARFF vehicle. The vehicle will support emergency operations at the airport, which is owned and operated by the Hualapai tribe and situated on the Hualapai Indian Reservation.

“We evaluated three different ARFF apparatus, and the Striker offered the features we liked best, with a strong reputation for quality and longevity,” said Rick Carlson, CEP ARFF airport operations manager with the Grand Canyon Resort Corporation. “The ease of access to the engine compartment for maintenance is also a key attribute which will allow our team to competently maintain the proper service protocols to ensure the vehicle remains a valuable resource for many years to come.”

Features of Grand Canyon West Airport’s Striker 4×4 ARFF vehicle:

• Scania V8 670 hp Tier 4F engine

• Water capacity: 1,500 gallons (5,678 liters)

• Foam capacity: 220 gallons (757 liters)

• Dry chemical capacity: 550 pounds (250 kg)

• Oshkosh TAK-4® independent suspension

• Acceleration of 0-50 mph (0-80 kmh) in under 25 seconds

• Hydrochem roof turret: 375/750 gpm

• Bumper turret: 375/750 gpm

• Dual agent hose reel

• Oshkosh Eco-EFP foam testing system

• On board generator

Carlson added, “I’ve been in the fire service for over 20 years and understand many ARFF vehicles are very different from one another. When you sit in the pilot seat of the Striker 4×4, the cab functionality and operator experience are exceptional. I can confidently say the vehicle is very easy to operate. Our crew also appreciates the Eco EFP foam system so we can facilitate all of our necessary testing without deploying foam on the ground.” Located on the west rim of the Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon West Airport covers 350 acres of land on the Hualapai Indian Reservation and is 60 miles northwest of Peach Springs, Arizona.

With approximately 150,000 commercial passenger boardings annually, a common destination for travelers is Las Vegas – located 120 miles northwest. “We’ve appreciated having the opportunity to work collaboratively with the Grand Canyon West Airport ARFF operations team to analyze their unique needs and help select the most advanced emergency apparatus to best support each critical mission they may encounter,” said Jack Bermingham, Business Unit Director for Oshkosh Airport Products. “Our team looks forward to continuing to build our relationship and providing dedicated training and service support in the years ahead.” To learn more about Oshkosh Airport Products and Grand Canyon West Airport’s new Striker 4×4 ARFF vehicle, visit www.oshkoshairport.com.

About Oshkosh Airport Products
Oshkosh Airport Products, a division of Pierce Manufacturing Inc., a subsidiary of Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK), is a designer and builder of industry-leading airport firefighting vehicles. Its flagship Striker® Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicles are known for their durability and superior performance and are sold throughout the world. For more information, visit www.oshkoshairport.com.
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