Submitted by Chelsea (AL) Fire & Rescue Department

In December, the Southern Vintage Fire Apparatus Association took possession of the Chelsea Fire & Rescue Department’s 1985 Pierce Engine 31.

Engine 31 was purchased to replace a military deuce and a half, which was being used for fire suppression at the time. The department board members cosigned a loan to purchase the truck, which was the first new fire engine in Chelsea.

At the time, there were several active volunteers who attended weekly meetings to train on the operation of the truck. Chelsea became the “Town of Chelsea” in the late 1990s and around the year 2000, the first paid firefighters were hired, in addition to the volunteers.

The Town of Chelsea secured funding to purchase a 2000 model Quality fire engine (Current Engine 33) and the paid firefighters responded on the Quality, while the volunteers continued to respond on the 1985 Ford Pierce.

In the mid-2000s, as Chelsea continued to grow, the 1985 Ford Pierce truck became a reserve truck. It remained in service as a reserve until 2020 when it was removed from service completely.

In its 35 years of service to the City of Chelsea, it ran thousands of calls in the city and with neighboring departments for mutual aid. Over the years, the truck was used multiple times as a caisson for the funerals of many of the original volunteers. Its final act of service was to stand by at the cemetery during the funeral of Fire Chief Wayne Shirley, the first paid fire chief of Chelsea, in August of 2020. Chief Shirley was very fond of this truck as he started his career in the fire service as a Chelsea Volunteer and responded to countless calls on this truck during that time.

While many decommissioned fire apparatus are either scrapped or donated to smaller departments, Engine 31 will be on display at the Southern Vintage Fire Apparatus Association

“It has a legacy of serving our city and those around us, as well as playing an enormous part in getting our fire department where it is today and paying tribute to the ones who came before us,” said Fire Chief Joe Lee. “We wanted something better than that for the ‘85 Engine 31.”

Lee said the department reached out to the Southern Vintage Fire Apparatus Museum in Birmingham, who said not only did they have room for Engine 31, but they came and picked it up themselves.

“Their level of excitement to have it has definitely reassured us that it is in good hands there,” Lee said. “So now, instead of being cooped up in a bay collecting dust, it will serve as a piece of history for not only the fire service but also the City of Chelsea and how far we’ve come.”

From the Indianapolis Airport Authority Fire Department Facebook post Jan. 21:

Firefighters, retirees and officials at the Indianapolis International Airport recently celebrated the arrival of two new aircraft rescue firefighting apparatus, which included ceremonial traditions practiced among firefighters dating back to the 1800s. The event demonstrated the fellowship and team connection candidates looking to serve among Indy airport first responders can expect to find.

Firefighters, retirees, and officials at the Indianapolis International Airport celebrated the in-service of two new Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) Trucks. The ceremony involved several traditions, starting with a wet down, where hoses from the old trucks were used to wet the new truck. The wet-down ceremony dates back to the late 1800s when a new fire apparatus was washed with water from an outgoing apparatus. The anointing was a way of symbolizing good luck, safe responses, and passing the proverbial torch.

Next, a push-in tradition took place where Firefighters pushed the truck into the station. The push-in ceremony is a fire service tradition that dates back to the late 1800s when fire departments used horse-drawn equipment. Upon returning to the station after a fire call, the horses could not easily back the equipment into the station. They were disconnected from the fire wagons, and firefighters would push the equipment back into the bay themselves.

A Chaplin from Indianapolis Fire Department blessed the trucks and all who ride on them. Radio calls were made, marking the old trucks out of service and the new trucks in service.

All attendees were given a memorial towel and used the towels to help dry the trucks as a symbol of pride.

The two trucks are specifically designed for aircraft firefighting. Each truck carries 3,000 gallons of water, 420 gallons of foam concentrate, and 500 lbs. of dry chemical firefighting agent. They have off-road capabilities, floatation tires, independent suspension, and can pump agents through two turrets while driving. It has a 50’ boom and a penetrating nozzle that allows the aluminum skin on an aircraft or cargo box to be pierced and flooded with a firefighting agent. A low attack feature enables the foam to be applied under a plane while simultaneously using an agent from the top. A center-seated driver with joysticks controls all these features from the vehicle’s cab.

The ceremony also included a push-in, a tradition that also dates back to the late 1800s when fire departments used horse-drawn equipment.

Indianapolis Fire Department Chaplin Father John McCaslin was also on hand to bless the trucks and all who ride on them. The event topped off with a radio call from the Airport Operations Center, announcing the old trucks officially out of service and the new trucks officially in.

Pervine said the two trucks are specifically designed for aircraft firefighting, each with the capacity to carry 3,000 gallons of water, 420 gallons of foam concentrate, and 500 pounds of dry chemical firefighting agent.

Each truck also has a 50-foot boom and a penetrating nozzle to pierce the aluminum skin on an aircraft or cargo box and flood it with a firefighting agent. In addition, each truck has a “low attack” feature that can apply firefighting foam under the aircraft, while simultaneously using an agent from the top.

Wow, take a look at this: a Manchester Fire ladder truck is frozen on Liberty Street, where crews responded to a fire at a multi-family home last night.

No one was hurt in that fire. News 9 confirmed the building is owned by Mayor Joyce Craig #wmur pic.twitter.com/YZLmMc3z38

— Hannah Cotter (@HannahWMUR) February 4, 2023

Firefighters in two New Hampshire cities faced challenging conditions battling fires in the bitter cold weather, wmur.com reported.

A multi-family home on Elm Street in Keene went up in flames Saturday morning, displacing nine people, the report said.

Keene fire Chief Donald Farquhar said in addition to slippery roads, firefighters responding to the scene were met with several frozen hydrants so they had to use one from the next street over, according to the report.

It was so cold Friday night that a Manchester fire truck got stuck, the report said.

Freedom News was on the scene of an accident in New York Friday night between an FDNY SUV and another vehicle that ended with a ladder truck boxing in the second vehicle while police arrived.

The incident happened at West 43rd Street and 8th Avenue in midtown Manhattan at about 6:15 p.m. The driver of the vehicle hit a piece of department apparatus but did not immediately stop.

“FDNY reportedly caught up to the alleged hit and run vehicle and boxed the car in until NYPD responded to their location,” Freedom News reports.

More Freedom News video here.