Jeremy Boyer
syracuse.com
(TNS)

Syracuse, N.Y. — Part of a massive furniture store on Syracuse’s South Side could soon become the city fire department’s maintenance facility.

The Syracuse Common Council approved a series of resolutions Monday authorizing an estimated $5.7 million project to turn a portion of the Dunk & Bright furniture complex on South Salina Street into the Syracuse Fire Department’s main garage.

The department needs a new facility for doing repairs on its fleet of more than 100 vehicles because the floor of its longtime maintenance garage partially collapsed in July, forcing the department to close the facility for safety reasons.

That garage, near the fire department’s training facility on State Fair Boulevard, was built in 1969 and not designed for the size of many of today’s larger fire apparatus.

Fire Chief Michael Monds has been working with the council’s Public Safety Committee, chaired by Councilor Chol Majok, the city’s deputy commissioner of asset management and the finance department to find a new home and figure out how to pay for it.

A request for proposals returned an unexpected opportunity — the chance to buy part of an iconic furniture store property that’s operated at the corner of South Salina Street and West Brighton Avenue since 1927.

Dunk & Bright owner Joe Bright said the 25,000-square-foot showroom area — which currently houses dining room, bedroom and clearance items — is more space than his business needs. Even after that part of the building is sold, the company will have one of the largest furniture showrooms in the region with 57,000 square feet.

Bright saw the city’s request for proposals and didn’t hesitate to respond.

“It seemed like it was written for this part of our building,” he said.

Monds is hopeful the new garage can be in operation by late spring.

The council authorized spending $100,000 for a down payment using money in the department’s capital project reserve fund. It also approved borrowing up to $1.6 million to use toward the purchase of the property, which includes two vacant lots next to the part of the building the city would buy. The city’s assessment department estimates full value for the entire building at about $3 million.

Another $4 million bond councilors approved would pay for the renovation work needed to make the building functional as a fire department garage.

Since the department’s old maintenance facility shut down, the fire department’s mechanics have been doing much of their work outdoors, which is not a long-term option, Monds said. Syracuse University has also allowed the city to use some of its garage space when indoor work is needed.

Monds and Bright both said it will help the South Salina Street neighborhood to have another visible employer operating there.

“Having more neighbors is a positive,” Bright said.

The fire chief also praised all the city staff and lawmakers for working together to address a pressing need so quickly.

“The process made me feel good,” Monds said.

©2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit syracuse.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Foam use in the fire service varies from department to department and what is being protected. In recent years, the fire service has transitioned from fluorinated foams, like aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) to fluorine-free foams, also known as F3. A lot goes into creating effective foams, and one company that produces them, Perimeter Solutions, not only has five chemists that are constantly creating new formulations but also has a robust testing center on its Green Bay, Wisconsin, campus and education program for the fire service.

HISTORY

Perimeter Solutions is the fire safety industry’s only full service solutions provider offering products, equipment, personnel, logistics and service, according to Mark Siem, manager of business development/chemist at the company.

The company’s roots go back to 1963 when PHOS-CHEK retardants were first introduced. Then in the 1980s, PHOS-CHEK WD881 was the first Class A foam on the US Forest Service’s qualified products list. That company started as part of Monsanto. From the late 1990s until 2021 it went through a series of acquisitions and became a public company in 2021. Between the 1960s and 2021, there were a number of changes in ownership, but also a number of acquisitions that broadened what the company could offer, with one of those acquisitions being the SOLBERG foam concentrate business in 2018. The combination of these acquisitions created what is now known as Perimeter Solutions and preceded another series of acquisitions that increased the company’s offerings.

There are three different groups that make up Perimeter Solutions that are run individually: suppressants, retardants, and specialty chemicals. The retardant products go by PHOS-CHEK, and firefighting foams use SOLBERG as the brand name. SOLBERG has a long history of firefighting Class B foams, and it started making fluorine-free foams in the early 2000s.

RESEARCH CAPABILITIES

Perimeter Solutions provides research and development capabilities that include an onsite test center that will test various foam formulations develo

APPLETON, Wisconsin (November 12, 2025) – Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) business, today announced the Columbus Division of Fire in Columbus, Ohio, has placed an order for two Pierce Ascendant^® 107’ Heavy-Duty Tiller Aerial Ladders and two Pierce Enforcer™ Pumpers. The order, secured through Pierce dealer Atlantic Emergency Solutions, emphasizes the department’s dedication to equipping its crews with fire apparatus tailored for high call volume and diverse emergency response needs across the city.

The Columbus Division of Fire operates 34 fire stations and serves nearly 906,000 residents within the city’s boundaries, spanning more than 220 square miles. With approximately 1,700 uniformed personnel supported by civilian staff, the department provides both fire protection and EMS services in one of the nation’s busiest metropolitan areas.

“Reliability and operational consistency are critical for a department of Columbus’ size,” said Dave Reichman, regional vice president of sales for Atlantic Emergency Solutions. “The new apparatus are designed to perform under pressure, with features directly supporting firefighters’ safety and efficiency on scene. The Ascendant Tillers and Enforcer Pumpers will provide the visibility, maneuverability, and functionality needed to serve Columbus residents effectively.”

Columbus has exclusively relied on Pierce Tillers since 2012, with each unit customized to meet the city’s unique specifications. For this order, consistency and customization were key factors in choosing Pierce tillers, while the Enforcer Pumpers offered quality assurances, availability, and cost-effectiveness through Pierce’s Build My Pierce™(BMP™) Program, which allowed for expedited delivery timelines.

The four apparatus include:

Two (2) Pierce Ascendant 107’ Heavy-Duty Tiller Aerial Ladders

• Enforcer custom chassis with Cummins X12 engine
• TAK-4^® tiller axle
• Tandem-rear axle chassis for improved stability, braking, and traction
• Steel ladder construction offering 107’ of vertical reach
• Highly customized trailer compartmentation to meet department specifications
• Wireless remote aerial control system for enhanced flexibility

Two (2) Pierce Enforcer Pumpers

• Enforcer custom chassis with Cummins L9 engine
• TAK-4 Independent Front Suspension
• 1,500 gpm pump
• 750-gallon water tank
• 152” body with extensive compartmentation and low hosebed design

Reichman added, “The apparatus are designed to meet the demands of a large metropolitan city with a very high call volume. The tillers provide fast aerial setup, quick control movement, and superb visibility, while the pumpers feature thoughtful compartmentation and low hosebeds to maximize efficiency. We appreciate the opportunity to continue supporting the department with apparatus engineered for reliability, safety, and operational excellence.”

For more information on Pierce’s Ascendant Aerial Ladders, Enforcer Pumpers, and other innovative fire apparatus, visit www.piercemfg.com for specs, videos, and images.

About Pierce Manufacturing

Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation [NYSE: OSK] business, is the leading North American manufacturer of custom fire a

Editor’s Opinion | Chris Mc Loone

It’s hard to believe we are in November already. To be honest, I’m already looking beyond Thanksgiving to Christmas.

On Thanksgiving morning, I’ll be watching Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and, after dinner, it will be National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation—with a very healthy amount of football watching in between. Next month is usually dedicated to looking toward the future, in this case 2026. So, I’ll take the opportunity this month to take a look back at 2025.

This has been probably the oddest year for this brand since I started covering the fire apparatus and equipment market here. Never before have I seen the dedication of apparatus and equipment manufacturers to keeping firefighters safe questioned. And, it has been done so publicly. Collusion—that’s a word that has been bandied about in recent months. I am at the “I can’t believe they’re serious” stage at this point.

It troubles me when individuals are called to appear before a committee, seemingly to provide information on why things are the way they are, only to be constantly interrupted and not really given the opportunity to explain the factors that have gotten us to this point. That makes me question why the hearing was called to begin with.

So, it’s been a rough year trying to navigate all this and to find the answers we’re looking for. Along the way though, and possibly lost amidst all the noise this year, there has been positive news. For example, Spartan, Wheeled Coach, and EVI are all celebrating 50th anniversaries in 2025. Spartan Emergency Response announced a multimillion-dollar expansion at its Brandon, South Dakota, facility. Pierce has added nearly 500,000 square feet of new facility space across locations to increase its capacity. So, there has been good news this year.

I recently returned from the 2025 Fire Truck Training Conference. Attending this event allows me to meet some of the people who keep our fleets up and running. The EVTs come from far and wide to attend the conference, originally conceived by Bill Foster, who we sadly lost in January of this year. As soon as I walked into the main hall, it was impossible to miss “Ol’ No. 1,” Spartan’s first chassis, which featured an FMC cab. The conference usually has a few cabs/chassis without bodies that students will use to learn about various mechanical systems on fire apparatus. Seeing them always brings to mind images of Bill arriving at my fire company with just the cab/chassis to talk to us about Spartan’s latest offerings.

Every year, the conference brings people from all over the country and Canada together. Although many are, not all of these EVTs are firefighters. But every one of them considers himself part of saving lives. They know they can’t have a bad day at the office. And, as Al Conkle, this year’s recipient of the William F. Foster Outstanding Service Award, said, “You folks make this industry safer.”

What really struck me in some of my conversations was the ground some of these shops cover. They are repairing rigs that are hours away from the shop. The ages of many of the fleets are also impressive. And, that is not a commentary on what’s happening today. These departments just don’t have the budget to upgrade fleets that feature rigs from the 1980s and early 1990s. One EVT remarked, “They’re in great shape. They run great. They’re just old.”

Of course, it is November, and with it being the month of Thanksgiving, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention some things I’ve been thankful for during this year. At the top of the list are ou