Most of the drywall has been installed and the apparatus bay has been painted. The interior plumbing and electrical work is nearing completion and crews will begin moving in the kitchen fixtures and other furnishings once the last of the walls and doors have been installed. One of the alternates that city council approved was the decision to install four-fold doors instead of overhead retractable doors, a design choice that Lewis said is more about practicality than aesthetics.

The fire truck tried to pass a pickup truck along Airport Road when that driver took a left turn.

Firefighters tried to avoid that driver, but lost control of the fire truck and the truck rolled over. There's about $100,000 dollars worth of damage to the truck.

Police said the fire truck and the car were headed in the same direction when the car tried to turn in front of the truck from a middle lane, causing the crash.   

The driver of the car was injured, but he is expected to be okay. Police said he could be cited. 

A 1926 American LaFrance Type 31 ladder truck, brought back in fully restored condition after being sold to a Pennsylvania truck dealer in the late 1970s, will be unveiled at Vintage Days on May 4 at Market Square.  

The ancient vehicle, fire-engine red with gold-leaf striping and lettering, was originally purchased by the city of Brownsville in 1927, a time of rapid growth for the city when the buildings were getting taller. It is 55 feet in length with a 75-foot wooden ladder in three sections, and came equipped with a folding “life net,” which resembles a trampoline, once used to rescue people from the upper stories of burning buildings.

The Type 31 was manufactured by the American LaFrance Fire Engine Company of Elmira, N.Y. It is a rare “tillered” ladder truck, meaning the front and rear both are steerable — essential to navigating the tight spaces of early downtown, said Eugene Fernandez, the Brownsville historian whose sleuthing led to the vehicle’s homecoming.