Vince Richardson
Skagit Valley Herald, Mount Vernon, Wash.
(TNS)

Jan. 25—SEDRO-WOOLLEY — The delivery of two ambulances the Sedro-Woolley Fire Department ordered in 2021 has been delayed.

The ambulances were expected to arrive in 2022, but have yet to be built. The department is also waiting for a new brush truck it had ordered.

Sedro-Woolley Fire Chief Frank Wagner said the delays are due to a shortage in available chassis for the vehicles.

“We’ve been told the company is hoping to get those chassis delivered in a month or two,” he said.

The vehicles are certainly needed as the Sedro-Woolley department just logged its busiest month in history, and the ambulances and brush truck are at the end of their lifespans.

“We are crossing our fingers that hopefully by the second quarter of this year we will see them show up,” Wagner said. “The rigs we have now are a year behind (replacement) schedule and are spending a lot more time in the shop for preventative maintenance and upkeep than we normally have budgeted.”

Finding specialty vehicles such as ambulances on the used market is not easy.

“Honestly, you can’t even find them,” Wagner said. “So these agencies that suffer a catastrophe such as getting into a motor vehicle accident and they can’t fix them, well, they are trying to find these rigs on the used market. The demand is so high and the costs are way up.”

Wagner said that in 2021 he thought there could be difficulties in getting new vehicles.

“Well this is one time I wished I was wrong,” he said. “I was hoping someone — Ford, Chevy, Dodge — would come through and prove us all wrong and over deliver.”

A $1.1 million fire engine is on schedule to be delivered to the department in 2024 after an estimated 485-day build schedule.

— Reporter Vince Richardson: 360-416-2181, vrichardson@skagitpublishing.com. Twitter:@goskagit, Facebook.com/VinceRichardson/

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(c)2023 the Skagit Valley Herald (Mount Vernon, Wash.)

Visit the Skagit Valley Herald (Mount Vernon, Wash.) at www.goskagit.com

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Voters at a special town meeting in Avon Tuesday night approved purchasing two new vehicles for the Avon Volunteer Fire Department, Patch.com reported.

There were two questions on the agenda, each one for a different vehicle that would be utilized by the AVFD, the report said.

In separate 126-1 votes, town meeting attendees approved bonding $1.259 million for a new pumper tanker truck and $2.172 million for a new ladder truck, according to the report.

The existing models currently being utilized by the AVFD are in excess of 20 years old and proponents say it is better to replace now than undertake expensive repairs and renovations for the older models, the report said.

A recent lightning strike on the old radio tower at the Carthage Police and Fire Department building damaged several thousand dollars’ worth of equipment, city officials told commissioners Monday, PanolaWatchman.com reported.

A fire official, giving his quarterly update at the city commission meeting, said the old tower at the police and fire building took a direct lighting hit on Jan. 2 that affected “probably about $40,000 worth of computer electrical phone, ice machines, just a lot of equipment within the fire police building,” the report said.

A police official also noted some damage to the department’s recorder, costing about $25,000, according to the report.

City Manager Steve Williams told officials that the damage from the lightning strike has been covered by insurance, the report said.

Brookfield Renewable U.S. recently donated $8,000 to the Fulton Fire Department toward the purchase of a rapid deployment rescue boat and additional rescue equipment, said Fulton Fire Chief Adam Howard, OswegoCountyNewsNow.com reported.

According to the company’s website, Brookfield Renewable U.S. is a leading owner, operator and developer of renewable power, delivering innovative, renewable power solutions that accelerate the world towards a sustainable, low-carbon future.

A rapid deployment craft, or RDC, allows a rescuer or rescue team to quickly reach a victim and safely retrieve them from open or ice-covered water, the chief said.

In addition to the RDC, the donation helped purchase ropes, life vests, helmets, swiftwater rescue suits and more, the report said.