Seatbelts help Pedernales firefighters in crash

Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Staff

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas – Four Pedernales firefighters were injured in a fire engine crash on Saturday, according to CBS Austin and KVUE.

The crash occurred at approximately 8:40 a.m. in the 16000 block of W. SH 71 near Coral Stone Way.

All four firefighters were taken to a hospital with non-life-threating injuries.

The have all been released.

Austin-Travis County EMS stated that all four were wearing the seatbelts at the time of the crash.

The post Four Texas Firefighters Injured in Fire Engine Crash appeared first on Fire Apparatus.

According to a report from WYDaily, the Williamsburg City Council voted unanimously February 11 to authorize the city manager to enter into an interim agreement with David A. Nice Builders, a general contractor, for a new Williamsburg (VA) Volunteer Fire Department (WVFD) station.

The current fire station at 440 N. Boundary Street will be demolished and a new 31,000-square-foot station will be built on the same lot. The city council chose David A. Nice Builders for the project at its January 2021 regular meeting.

According to the city’s news release, the interim agreement allows for design work to begin and run to completion in April; it does not obligate the City Council to move forward with the demolition or construction process with David A. Nice Builders.

Under the interim agreement, the city of Williamsburg will pay David A. Nice Builders $391,054 for the design work. Architectural firms Guernsey-Tingle Architects and Stewart-Cooper-Newell Architects will be part of the project team as well.

City staff is expected to present a comprehensive agreement to city council in July, which included the final pricing and design elements of the station. Once a comprehensive agreement is approved, demolition can proceed in the months that follow.

Williamsburg took bids for the design and building of the new fire station through the Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act (PPEA). The PPEA process allowed the city council to determine its preferred proposal for the design and building of the project.

The bid solicitation began in August and seven bid proposals were received, three of which advanced to the last phase of the process, which included releasing conceptual drawings to the public, the city’s Architectural Review Board, the Williamsburg Planning Commission, and firefighters for input.

The post Interim Agreement Reached for New Fire Station in Williamsburg (VA) appeared first on Fire Apparatus.

According to a report from WLDS, the Roodhouse (IL) Fire Department (RFD) is expected to receive a new, state-of-the-art rescue truck in September thanks to a $40,5000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and a little aid from 13th District Congressman Rodney Davis.

The new 2021 Dodge Ram 5500 4×4 Crew Cab truck will replace the RFD’s current rescue truck, which has been in service since 1983. RFD Chief Terry Hopkins said the older truck is still working but is no longer cost effective to keep up the maintenance. He says the RFD will place the classic rescue truck for bid to help offset some of the new vehicle’s cost. Hopkins also said the new rescue will help aid the RFD in the 250-275 medical calls the department responds to annually.

In January, Davis announced that the RFD received the grant from the Community Facility Disaster Grants program through the USDA Rural Development. The new truck will cost $115,900, with a commercial loan for $75,400 being made to the RFD alongside the grant to complete the purchase.

Hopkins said the RFD will face a delay in getting the truck on the road, stating that it will take until September or perhaps even early October for the RFD to take receipt of the vehicle. He also said it has taken the RFD a year’s worth of effort to secure the rescue truck.

Hopkins says that Roodhouse Police Chief Kyle Robison was instrumental in informing the RFD about the USDA grant. Robison has used the grant to purchase squad cars in the past.

The post Roodhouse (IL) to Receive New Rescue Truck This Fall appeared first on Fire Apparatus.

According to a report from The Daily Herald, Maury County, Tennessee’s, unanimously approved a resolution awarding 906 Studio Architects, LLC, with a $52,000 contract to draft the architectural plans for a new fire station in Hampshire. Columbia’s WES Engineering will provide civil engineering services on the project. The new station is expected to allow the Maury County Fire Deparrtment (MCFD) faster response times.

The new station, to be located at 4126 Hampshire Pike, will replace Station No. 5. Located on a three-acre plot of land, the new site is located just south of the intersection with Dry Fork Road near the center of the small rural community.

Preliminary plans for the facility include a wood-framed station and a preengineered metal building with four bay doors for the operation’s vehicles and resources.

The two-story firehouse will also include a kitchen, a training room, an office, a laundry room, and a storage area. The second floor will feature two bunk rooms, two baths, and additional offices.

The firm previously worked with county government and volunteer fire service in drafting plans for the newly completed Station No. 12 on Carters Creek Pike near Spring Hill.

Commissioner Sue Stephenson made a motion to support the resolution, which received a second from Matthew White. The commissioner’s support is a step forward in the county commission’s ongoing mission to provide better coverage to the county’s rural communities.

The new station is part of an ongoing expansion effort by the local fire department and will mark the third new location for the largely volunteer MCFD in the past five years.

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