Haltom City-based Trotter Controls eceived a patent and FAA approval for the world’s first all-electric fire gate system, reports Dallas Innovates.

The company’s FRDS GEN III was selected as a fire gate for Air Tractor and its latest version of the AT802F firefighting plane.

The new system replaces the hard-to-maintain hydraulics and pumps with a simpler electric motor that’s 40 percent lighter. That means the plane can carry more liquid fire retardant and the design automatically compensates when the tank is not level to deliver consistent coverage on the ground.

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Firefighters in South Chicago said they’re concerned the relocation of a 100-foot tower ladder will slow response times to the high-rises in South Shore and nearby communities, reports Block Club Chicago.

The ladder with a platform to hold firefighters and retrieve citizens moved to the department’s $30 million fire station.

A fire department spokesperson said that tower trucks are still in service in Hyde Park, Back of the Yards and Archer Heights.

Some residents fear South Side neighborhoods with many high-rises still in existence — and with higher densities than the area around West Pullman — will now see slower response times if fires require a tower truck. Even with the tower truck already moved, residents said that officials could move it back.

The post Chicago (IL) Firefighters, Residents Want Fire Apparatus Returned to Southeast Side appeared first on Fire Apparatus.

Fire officials gave a first look inside Streetsboro’s new fire station, reports Record-Courier.

In 2019 voters approved a 20-year, 0.8-mill levy to fund the $5.43 million project. Nearly a year after ground broke on the project in April 2021, construction is nearly halfway finished. Designs were carefully planned to ensure the new building could be all of those things.

The first floor features two emergency bays. One is for the city’s three ambulances while the other will hold larger apparatus such as ladder trucks. The ambulances get their own area, because a majority of calls received by the fire department are for medical emergencies.

The fire station also had modern amenities like a turnout gear room. It is outfitted with special extractor to help clean gear and rid it of smoke and other carcinogens. The nearby vehicle bay will also have a diesel exhaust system to help dispel fuel fumes.

Upstairs there is a gym, two locker rooms, a laundry room, and 10 individual sleeping areas. An average shift of firefighters has at least six people.

The post Streetsboro (OH) Previews Fire Station Construction appeared first on Fire Apparatus.

Westmoreland residents rejected a proposal for a $2.3 million new fire station by the slimmest of margins, reports SentinelSource.com.

The article required a 60 percent majority to pass and it failed 278-189, just three votes short of the threshold. With such a close vote, the town delayed reporting its official results.

The proposed 6,400 square-foot fire station would have been built on town-owned land behind town hall. Firefighters were pushing for a new station for several reasons, including inadequate space for equipment in the current 3,650 square-foot station — built in 1954 — and its inability to accommodate certain health and safety protocols.

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