Four new apparatuses were commissioned by the Schenectady, NY, Fire Department this week and join four other frontline apparatus, according to a report from ABC News 10.

The city received two Rosenbauer Commander fire engines and a mid-mount quint with a 100-foot mid-mount aerial platform, also built by Rosenbauer.

The fourth vehicle is a Ford F350 light rescue with a custom Stonewell body.

A state grant of $1 million helped the city pay for the apparatus, the television station reported.

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The City of Asheville (NC) recently shared a video and release about the fire department’s tiller truck.

According to the release, Ladder 1 was purchased for $1.2 million back in 2019. It runs out of the downtown station and responds to more than 2,800 calls per year. The ladder extends to 103 feet. 

Designed with increased maneuverability with shorter wheelbases and impressive turning radius, this type of ladder truck allows Asheville firefighters to more safely maneuver through the narrow streets and challenging terrain of the city’s downtown.

Extensive training has been delivered to several engineers across three shifts who are responsible for operating this fire truck. Training includes driving through the company’s first responding area in non-emergency situations to be better prepared and to discover any challenging situations they could encounter prior to an emergency. This type of truck accommodates a greater number of ground ladders with more variety than a typical ladder truck, providing firefighters greater ability to reach more windows and roofs where the aerial ladder cannot. It also has larger storage compartments, allowing the truck  to carry more rescue equipment.

The department purchased its first motorized tractor drawn aerial truck in 1923. Built by American LaFrance, it’s purchase price was $16,100.  

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An historic fire apparatus that once served the city of Brockton, MA, has made its way home, just in time to help memorialize a fire that killed 13 firefighters 80 years ago, according to a report broadcast by WHDH 7 News.

The television station said the 1924 pumper, dubbed Squad A, was used in 1941 to battle a fire at the Strand Theater that killed 13 firefighters including four who rode to the fire on that same apparatus.

The truck had been missing for many years but last year, a fire truck collector from Billerica, who is also a firefighter, contacted a former Brockton fire chief. He told the chief he thought it was the same truck from the Strand Theater.

“The bottom line was, he told me about the truck and I said, ‘You know what that sounds like a Brockton truck,” Galligan said.

After some research confirmed it was indeed the same truck, the local union in Brockton decided to buy it, the TV station reported. The union plan to restore the apparatus, which currently runs and drives and make it a permanent memorial to the fallen firefighters. Next month, it will be displayed outside City Hall to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the fire, according to the report.

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