According to a report from The Shreveport Times, Shreveport, Louisiana, and Willis-Knighton Health System officials met at a groundbreaking for the Shreveport Fire Department’s (SFD’s) new Fire Station No. 8 on Friday morning. The new station will be located at Greenwood Road and Missouri Street and will replace the 96-year-old fire station at the state Fair Grounds.

The station carries with it a cost of $2,345,278. Willis-Knighton provided the property for the new building through a property exchange agreement.

SFD Chief Scott Wolverton gave special thanks to the citizens for passing the bond issue nearly 10 years ago. A 2019 bond issue would have replaced Fire Stations No. 11, 14, and 15.

The SFD and Willis-Knighton began talks about the property as a potential site for the new station back in 2019.

The station at Greenwood Road and Missouri Street will include energy-efficient features such as a generator to supply power in the event of an outage, men and women’s dormitories, bathroom facilities, and a dedicated exercise room for fitness and safety.  

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Toyne highlights the delivery of the latest Toyne Pumper to the Rochelle Fire Department (RFD) in Rochelle, Illinois.

Established in 1877, the RFD has been serving the residents of Rochelle for nearly 145 years. Today, the department has 34 firefighters on its roster and manages nine apparatus. In 2014, they responded to nearly 2,000 emergency calls. The department’s firefighters will go through in-service training on their Toyne Apparatus before being officially put into service.

“This is a highly capable rescue/pumper, and it’s equipped with a wide variety of specialized hardware to assist the Rochelle Fire Department for a range of different emergencies,” said Bill Bird, Toyne Product Support Coordinator. “We’re proud to build an apparatus as robust as this one is.”

The rescue/pumper was stall-built at the Toyne manufacturing facility in Breda, Iowa. Constructed with bolted painted stainless steel, the apparatus body is made to stand up to the elements. Toyne mounted the body onto a Spartan Metro Star ELFD chassis, and the cab boasts a 24-inch raised roof. Under the hood of this commanding apparatus is a 380-horsepower Cummins ISL9 engine and an Allison 3000 EVS transmission. On the inside of the cab, there is seating for up to six firefighters.

Read more about this delivery on Toyne’s YouTube page HERE.

For more information about the Rochelle Fire Department, please visit their Facebook page at Facebook.com/RochelleFireDepartment.

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According to a report from Yahoo News, the Owens Volunteer Fire Department (OVFD) in Athens, Alabama, is looking to turn an old ballfield at the old Owens Elementary School campus on Alabama 99 into the site for their new station.

At Tuesday’s Limestone County Board of Education session, Owens Volunteer Fire Department said they have an idea for another part of the site—turning the old ballfield into a new fire station for the department.

Tommy Toone an OVFD member and emergency medical technician and paramedic said that the department has been looking for land for the past several years on which to build a new station, saying the department has outgrown its station.

Toone also said the former school site is ideal because it’s on a stretch of the highway with a turn lane as well as a hydrant at the site. Additionally, they believe an area they can convert an area near a hill into a new community storm shelter.

Toone and OVFD Chief Andy Pylant said the current storm shelter is in such disrepair that it would be easier and more cost-effective to get a grant for a new station.

Finally, building a new fire station and storm shelter would mean clearing the area to such a degree that a helipad could be installed, meaning first responders wouldn’t have to transport medical or trauma patients all the way into Athens.

Town Board member Bradley Young said he needed a more detailed layout of the OVFD’s plans for the land and how much area would be needed for the station before he could fully commit to it.

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CMC and Harken Industrial recently announced the launch of the new CLUTCH for 12.5 – 13 mm (1/2 in) rope. Developed for intuitive operation and optimal control, this multi-purpose device was designed and engineered in collaboration by two companies with a collective 90-year history in rope management under heavy loads: CMC, a company with roots in rescue and rope access, and Harken Industrial, a manufacturing company with roots in high-performance sailing.

The CLUTCH is the latest evolution in rope hardware. Now available in 13 mm and 11 mm models, the CLUTCH delivers efficiency and ease of use in a multitude of rigging operations including hauling, lowering, descending, ascending, belaying, and TTRS. The CLUTCH offers unmatched versatility for the rope technician through its patented design and components:

• Stainless steel ratcheting and rotating sheave for efficient progress capture.
• Double-latched side plate independent from the attachment point.
• Anti-Panic brake and force limiting features for operational safety.
• Machined aluminum chassis clad with stainless steel wear guards.
• Integrated becket for direct connection of mechanical advantage components.
• Does the work of multiple devices: reducing cost, weight, volume, and training time.
• Both models are certified to NFPA (G) and ANSI. The 11 mm is also CE marked.

Jason Lusk, Director of Product Strategy for CMC says, “We are committed to helping our professional rope rescue and rope access customers do more with less while improving safety in the vertical environment. The CLUTCH is our testament to that objective and is now available in a version that is applicable to 12.5 mm (1/2 in) rope. Together with the 11 mm (7/16 in) version, the CLUTCH is available to the global rope professional. It is robust, efficient, intuitive and its development was inspired by our customers.”

Sean Cogan, Industrial Sales Manager for Harken Industrial adds, “The CLUTCH is a result of a successful collaborative effort between each company’s engineering/design team and end customers. The CLUTCH allows existing techniques to be possible with less equipment, while allowing development of new techniques because of its versatility and performance. Whatever technique or diameter rope your team calls for, the CLUTCH is adept at progressing rescue and access operational efficiency.” 

Both the 13 mm Red CLUTCH and 11 mm Gray CLUTCH are available from CMC (cmcpro.com) and Harken Industrial (harkenindustrial.com). To learn more about the CLUTCH, and to stay up-to-date on the latest product news, visit https://www.cmcpro.com/clutch.

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