Brian Hubert
Daily Freeman, Kingston, N.Y.
(TNS)

KINGSTON, N.Y. — The Common Council is set to vote in November on spending $1.25 million to acquire a 13,000-square-foot building at 18-30 East O’Reilly Street to serve as a new Central Fire Station.

The building is directly across the street from the current Central Fire Station, which City Engineer John Schultheis told lawmakers is no longer suitable for meeting the Kingston Fire Department’s needs. He said this building last housed a Central Hudson garage and a thrift store.

The Common Council’s Finance and Audit Committee unanimously approved the plan, clearing the way for the full Common Council to vote on the purchase at its Nov. 12 meeting.

Schultheis said if lawmakers approve the $1.25 million expenditure, the money will go towards acquiring the property and designing the new fire station. He added it was too early to offer an estimate of what the full project will cost.

“We could start construction in 2026 and that would give us 1.5 years to secure grant funding to reduce the cost to city taxpayers,” Schultheis said.

Renderings presented to lawmakers showed five engine bays large enough for fire trucks in a new building. “It needs to be completely new construction to handle the height and seismic loads we need,” he added. “The current garage does not have the depth or height we need.”

A rendering of a potential New Central Fire Station at 18-30 East O’Reilly Street was presented to the Common Council’s Finance and Audit Comittee by City Engineer John Schultheis on Wednesday, Oct. 9. (City of Kingston)

Kingston Fire Chief Chris Rea said these large bays would future-proof the station in case a larger ladder truck is needed at Central Station should larger and taller buildings get built in Midtown under the city’s new form-based zoning code.

The new building will feature a brick facade and decorative tower feature to blend in with other nearby buildings, he said.

Other portions of the building would be remodeled to feature new sleeping quarters, men’s and women’s showers and bathrooms, living quarters, a kitchen and lounge and gym for firefighters along with administrative space including a deputy chief’s office, he added.

Rea told lawmakers that the new building could also house an emergency operations center where department heads could work in one centralized location to handle all emergency management.

“Right now it’s

MOOSE BOATS—Alameda (CA) Fire Department fire boat. M2-38 Catamaran; twin Cummins QSB 6.7L 480-hp Turbo diesel engines; twin Darley 2,000-gpm centrifugal pumps; 398 feet long; full complement of marine electronics including four Raymarine 12-inch touch screen GPS/chart plotter/radar with FLIR And ICOM marine radios. Dealer: Ken Royal, Moose Boats, Mare Island, CA.

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GOLETA, California (Oct. 16 2024) — Teledyne FLIR, part of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated, today announced the ITAR-free Vue® TV128+ camera module, a high-performance, thermal-and-visible camera payload. Purpose-built for the Teledyne FLIR SIRAS™ professional uncrewed aerial system (UAS), it provides industry-leading thermal sensitivity for first responder missions and industrial inspections.  

The Vue TV128+ series pairs a 128x-zoom, 16MP visible camera with a performance-leading 640×512 resolution FLIR Boson®+ thermal camera within a quick-connect gimbal. The Boson+ inside is an uncooled, longwave Infrared (LWIR) thermal camera module that offers improved thermal sensitivity of less than or equal to (≤)20 mK, delivering unmatched thermal contrast and sharpness, day or night.  

Like the existing radiometric Vue TV128, the new Vue TV128+ features patented Teledyne FLIR MSX® Multi-Spectral Dynamic Imaging software to further improve thermal imagery and situational awareness. MSX adds visible light details to thermal images in real time for greater clarity, embedding edge and outline detail onto thermal readings. Unlike image fusing, the merging of a visible light and thermal image, MSX does not dilute the thermal image or decrease thermal transparency.  

“With the introduction of the Vue TV128+ for the SIRAS drone, we are excited to offer an even more advanced dual visible and thermal camera solution for professional UAV pilots,” said Mike Walters, Vice President, Teledyne FLIR. “Enhanced thermal visibility, especially in low-contrast environments, is a must-have tool for inspectors and public safety professionals.” 

The Vue TV128+ is IP54-rated, providing operators with a rugged design built to handle the elements. It’s appropriate for a variety of missions requiring immediate decision support or post-flight processing, including industrial and utilities inspection, firefighting, law enforcement, and search and rescue.  

The Vue TV128+ is available as part of a SIRAS drone bundle. It can also be purchased as a standalone payload option. To learn more about Teledyne FLIR’s SIRAS and Vue TV128+, visit www.flir.com/siras.   

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About Teledyne FLIR 

Teledyne FLIR, a Teledyne Technologies company, is a world leader in intelligent sensing solutions for defense and industrial applications, with approximately 4,000 employees worldwide. Founded in 1978, the company creates advanced technologies to help professionals make better, faster decisions that save lives and livelihoods. For more information, please visit www.teledyneflir.com or follow @flir.

North Lakes Fire and Rescue, a department that covers several unorganized townships and territories in northern Aroostook County, Maine, just replaced its 1974 fire apparatus with a 2024 Deep South pumper-tanker, thecounty.me reported.

The pumper-tanker has a 1,250 gallon-per-minute pump and a 2,000-gallon water tank.

The new rig, which a fire official said was priced at roughly $330,000, was primarily covered by federal grant funding, the report said. Ninety-five percent of the costs were covered through the Assistance to Firefighters Grants Program. The remaining five percent will be covered through the Aroostook County budget.

Some of the problems with the old truck included air leakage, electrical problems, faulty gauges, and inadequate lighting inside the vehicle, according to the report. The old rig will be put out to bid. Money from the sale will go toward outfitting the new pumper-tanker, the report said.

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