The Teague (TX) Volunteer Fire Department's Skeeter Type 3 a lifted Ford F550 four-door chassis with Skeeter's custom Step-Side body. It is a NWCG Type 3 with 500 gallons of water. This unit is already in service and answering calls. Brush 99 is dedicated to former Teague VFD Fire Chief Robert L. Knight, who died in the line of duty battling a downtown business fire in 2008.

Williamsburg, IA—Firefighters from the Williamsburg Fire Department welcomed the arrival of their new Toyne pumper-tanker. This is the department’s fourth Toyne Tailored Apparatus. It will be taking the place of an older Toyne Pumper that has helped protect their fire district for more than two decades.

The pumper tanker is mounted on a Spartan Metro Star LFD 10-inch-raised-roof chassis. Constructed with bolted painted stainless steel, the apparatus body is designed to withstand the elements. A Cummins ISL 450-hp engine and an Allison 3000 EVS transmission power the rig. It features a top-mount 1,500-gpm Hale Qmax pump, a 1,500-gallon UPF watertank, an Akron Hi Riser Monitor, and an onboard FoamPro 2001 class A foam system and 25-gallon foam cell.

“Working with Dale and the Toyne team has been a great experience,” said Chief Travis Heitman, Williamsburg Fire Department. “From working through the spec design phase to the apparatus build, everything went with relative ease! Also, being punctual on the build and having the engine early benefits the Williamsburg Fire District.”

With the desire to serve, the courage to act, and the ability to perform; volunteer firefighters of the Williamsburg Fire Department have been vigilantly severing their community of 3,100 for over 125 years. The department’s 31 volunteers not only protect life and property in Williamsburg but also work to provide mutual aid to eight other area fire departments. These firefighters respond to over 80 calls per year.

For more information, visit www.toyne.com.

The Gholson Volunteer Fire Department has added a new rescue/small brush truck to their fleet thanks to a $45,000 grant through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program administered by Texas A&M Forest Service.

“This new truck will be one of our first-out for wildland fires and rescue situations,” said Gholson VFD Fire Chief Mitch Vaughn. “The truck was made ready for service by adding a slip-on unit with a 300-gallon water tank and is also equipped with extrication tools that will be very helpful when responding to vehicle accidents on the busy Farm-to-Market Road 933.”

According to Vaughn the department has been saving funds a long time for this truck and is pleased to be placing it in service and retiring an unreliable, older truck. It will allow the volunteers to respond more efficiently since it can transport as many as four firefighters, making it more economical with fuel costs.

A proposed fire station closure could leave a 30-mile hole in emergency cover in West Somerset, a councillor has warned.

Somerset West and Taunton Council has opposed the closure of Porlock Fire station and any cuts to stations in Taunton, Wellington and Williton in response to proposals by Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service.

Protestors gathered in Porlock on Thursday afternoon (July 25) to demand the fire service reverse proposals to close their station, claiming it would put both tourists and elderly locals at risk.

Now their district council has called on the fire service to stop the cuts, and will be writing to Somerset's MPs asking them to lobby for further funding from central government.