A new fire truck is ordered for the Lynden (WA) Fire Department, LyndenTribune.com reported. 

Costing over $1.5 million, the Pierce Quint ladder truck will be built over the next two years in Wisconsin and arrive in time for the city’s next fire insurance rating, a city official said.

The city’s previous ladder truck was surplused as worn-out recently, the report said. 

Fortunately, the new engine has not only a 107-foot aerial reach, but also pumping capability to replace a pump truck that also needs to retire in a few years, the report said. That means the new ladder truck is going to replace two apparatus, which will free up a stall at the station, the city official said.

The lack of a ladder truck can be tolerated for two years because there are at least four others in the county, including one in the surrounding North Whatcom Fire & Rescue district, according to the report.

Amanda Christman
Standard-Speaker, Hazleton, Pa.
(TNS)

Dec. 22—Two firefighters were in a vehicle that was hit by a motorist while responding to a Friday morning crash in Hazle Twp.

Hazle Twp. Fire and Rescue was called out to Route 924 (CAN DO Expressway) at 7:23 a.m. near Oak Ridge Road for a crash with possible entrapment.

• Traffic Incident Management Training and You
• Strategies and Tactics for Roadway Incidents

Fire Chief Scott Kostician was driving a 2007 Chevrolet utility with another firefighter inside but, upon arrival, the vehicle was hit in the rear driver’s side by another motorist, according to the fire department. Members were about to exit the vehicle to assess the scene when the truck was hit, firefighters said.

Both firefighters received medical treatment for minor injuries at a local hospital and were released. The operator of the other vehicle was uninjured.

Kostician said their utility truck sustained moderate damage and the aluminum bed will have to be replaced. He encouraged motorists to slow down for weather and road conditions, as it was snowing during the wreck and to be aware of vehicles on the roadside.

Valley Regional EMS and Greater Hazleton EMS assisted on the scene.

State police at Hazleton is investigating.

Firefighters and troopers were responding to a one-vehicle crash at the time.

Troopers said Francisco Rodriguez Hernandez, 31, Hazle Twp., was driving a Toyota RAV 4 west on Route 924 when he lost control of the vehicle and began to slide. The vehicle went onto the right shoulder, traveled up an embankment and rolled onto its driver’s side, troopers said. Rodriguez Hernandez was unharmed but his passenger, Jorge Paulino Cruz, 27, Hazle Twp., sustained a minor injury and was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hazleton by Greater Hazleton EMS. The Toyota was towed.

Contact the writer:

achristman@standardspeaker

.com; 570-501-3584

The Central Fire Station in Meridian Township (MI) will be paid off three years early, wilx.com reported.

In 2012, voters approved a 15-year levy to finance the construction of a new Central Fire Station, which was expected to be paid off in 2028, the report said. City officials announced Wednesday that due to higher-than-expected revenue, they will be able to pay off the debt in 2025, which would save taxpayers more than $822,000 in principal and interest costs.

New Ladder Truck

In a Facebook post last week, the Meridian Township Fire Department introduced to the public its new ladder truck, which arrived last month.

The fire division within the Aiken Department of Public Safety purchased three engine pump trucks and one ladder truck recently, the Aiken Standard reported.

More effective fire hoses, as well as front- and rear-facing cameras, will be added to the new trucks, the report said.

A city official said the trucks were purchased with funds collected through the Capital Projects Sales Tax. The total purchase cost for all four trucks was about $3 million, the report said.

The department now has a total of eight fire trucks. Six engine pump trucks will be used daily, while the other two will be held in reserve. Two of the three ladder trucks will be used daily and one will be in reserve, the report said.

A push-in ceremony is scheduled for 5 p.m. January 12.

A push-in ceremony is a fire department tradition that dates back to the 1800s, in which firefighters would physically push a fire truck into the station because a horse was unable to back into the station.