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The purpose of the Fire Mechanics Section is to promote standardization of fire apparatus and equipment preventative maintenance, improve safety standards and practices, promote workshops, conferences, and seminars related to the purposes of this Section, and to promote cost savings through standardization of building and equipment purchasing and maintenance.

RECENT FIRE MECHANIC NEWS

Posted: Apr 21, 2025

‘True Hero’: OH Firefighter Struck, Killed While Aiding Driver

Cliff Pinckard – cleveland.com

WEST SALEM, Ohio — A Wayne County firefighter was killed when he was struck by a vehicle while attempting to help another driver whose pickup truck was stuck in a ditch, reports say.

The Town and Country Fire District announced the death of Lt. Paul Mickolick in a post on social media.

“Our department has suffered a tremendous loss,” Fire Chief Adam Hory said in a statement. “Lt. Mickolick was a mentor, a brother and a true hero. ”His passion for the fire service and his deep-rooted dedication to this community will never be forgotten.”

According to Plain Dealer/cleveland.com news partner WKYC Channel 3, the State Highway Patrol says Mickolick, 43, was helping a driver whose truck was stuck in a ditch at about 10:40 p.m. Friday. The truck became stuck while exiting a private field.

The patrol says Mickolick arrived at the scene in his personal vehicle and parked on side of the road. Moments later, a vehicle driven by a 64-year-old West Salem man went off the side of the road and hit Mickolick, the pickup truck and the truck’s driver, WKYC reports.

Mickolick was pronounced dead at the scene. The pickup driver was seriously injured and was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Akron, reports say.

The fire department says Mickolick previously had worked for 16 years as a flight paramedic for the Cleveland Clinic. He had worked for the fire department for 4½ years.

“His unwavering commitment to the safety and well-being of others was evident in every aspect of his service,” the news release says. “… Lt. Mickolick exemplified courage, integrity and selflessness both on and off duty. One can only imagine the countless number of lives he has impacted through his dedicated service.”

The crash remains under investigation.

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

The post ‘True Hero’: OH Firefighter Struck, Killed While Aiding Driver appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

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Posted: Apr 20, 2025

Twin Falls (ID) Will Have a Public Auction for an Old Fire Station

TWIN FALLS — Have you ever dreamed of owning an old fire station?

If you’ve got $535,000 lying around, you’re in luck. The city will soon have a public auction for the 46-year-old Twin Falls Fire Department station No. 3.

Unfortunately, the single-story, 3,000-square-foot building does not have a fire pole to slide down.

“Fire poles have been deemed dangerous in the fire service,” Fire Chief Mitchell Brooks told the Times-News.

Government surplus auctions are a great place to score a $10 computer monitor, a $50 bookshelf or a $5,000 pickup truck. But auctioning off a half-million-dollar fire station is not very common, Deputy City Manager Mitch Humble said.

Old firehouse going on auction

The former fire station on Washington Street South stands empty Monday, April 14, 2025, in Twin Falls. The single-story, 3,000-square-foot building soon will be auctioned off — without a fire pole.

The city is not in the land development game, he said, and typically has a specific purpose when acquiring land.

“Sometimes the purposes end,” Humble said. “In this case, we moved the fire station to another property.”

The Twin Falls City Council on Monday declared the old fire station at 929 Washington St. S. as surplus property after opening up a new station down the street a year ago.

Some of the fire department’s vehicles couldn’t fit in the old station, Brooks said, and it had limited space for sleep rooms and bathrooms for the fire crew.

“We essentially outgrew the building,” Brooks said.

Mitchell Brooks in as Twin Falls Fire Chief

Firefighter Mitchell Brooks takes over as the new fire chief as he introduces his colleagues and family members to Mayor Ruth Pierce on Monday, March 31, 2025, in Twin Falls.

With the building being vacant for a year now, the city has already heard from interested buyers. Humble has shown the building to about 10 people.

One of those potential buyers, he said, could use the building as a construction office, another might use it for a car detailing business and others are real estate speculators. The property is zoned commercial.

But there is one issue lingering over the upcoming auction. A city-owned cell tower sits in the middle of the property.

If a buyer wants to repurpose the building, the cell tower probably won’t be an issue, but it might be a problem if a buyer wants to demolish and rebuild on the one-acre plot.

“I feel like we’ll still sell it,” Humble said. “The question is, do we sell the property and retain the antenna, or not? I don’t know where we’re going to come down on that. We still need to do some research.”

The state lays out a clear process for how cities get rid of surplus property.

Posted: Apr 20, 2025

York (NE) City Council Approves New Ambulance for Fire Department

With a new fire station to be completed by the end of the year, a new ambulance won’t be far behind.

The York City Council on Thursday night approved a $459,971 bid from North Central Emergency Vehicles of Lincoln for a new ambulance.

However, the city won’t need to pay until 2027.

The new fire station will have a larger apparatus floor, providing more room for vehicles.

“We’re either toying with the idea of going to four ambulances in place of the three,” Fire Chief Tony Bestwick said, “or we just replace one of them that needs replaced instead of holding onto it and still have three.”

It takes two years to build an ambulance, he said.

“If we don’t sign a contract by May 1, the price of this goes up by 3%,” Bestwick said. That would amount to an additional $12,000 to $15,000.

By approving the purchase now, he said, the city council could ensure that the price wouldn’t go up.

“That will lock us in, and we don’t have to pay until Oct. 1, 2027,” Bestwick said.

“That’s why we wanted to get it on this agenda,” Mayor Barry Redfern said. “It gives us three budget years.”

The council can decide how much of the purchase they want to pay each budget year, he said.

“If we want to pay cash, do any kind of public service bonds or anything else,” Redfern added.

“It’s a very strange thing because you’re approving something for two budget years down the road,” City Administrator Sue Crawford said.

If the council didn’t approve the ambulance now, Councilman Jerry Wilkinson said, tariffs could increase the cost even more.

“It does feel like a good time to lock in a number,” Redfern said.

The quote from North Central Emergency Vehicles includes $384,971 for the Ford F-550 four-by-four diesel ambulance and $75,000 for a Stryker Powerload and PowerPro 2 cot.

Also on Thursday night, Bestwick delivered the Fire Department’s annual report to the city council.

“We had a rough summer with fatalities,” he said. “We had five accidents with seven fatalities within two months.”

Bestwick said all the fatal vehicle accidents involved Highway 34 in some way.

“If there’s anything else we can do to make Highway 34 safer,” he said, “we need to work on that as a city.”

The department also responded to the drowning death of an infant in 2024, Bestwick said.

“We learned some things about coming together, helping each other,” he said.

The Fire Department set a record with 4,159 training hours and responded to 1,653 calls.

“We were just a little short of our record last year of 1,681,” he said.

Bestwick also gave the council an update on construction of the new fire station.

In other action, the council:

* Approved a quote from Electric Pump of Des Moines, Iowa, to repair a pump at the wastewater treatment plant for $28,407.

* Approved the health insurance contract for city employees for May 1, 2025, through April 30, 2026.

* Had the first of three readings for an ordinance to annex the new Countryside Estates

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Posted: Apr 20, 2025

Bicyclist Hit and Killed by FDNY Fire Apparatus

A bicyclist was struck and killed by an FDNY fire apparatus in Queens Saturday, April 19, 2025, according to officials, pix11.com reported.

Police say an FDNY fire truck was traveling northbound on 80th Street and was making a turn on Juniper Boulevard when it collided with a bicycle, according to the report.

Emergency medical services responded and pronounced the male bicyclist dead at the scene. An NYPD investigation remains ongoing, authorities said.

The post Bicyclist Hit and Killed by FDNY Fire Apparatus appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

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Fire Mechanics Section Board

Chair

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Chair

Elliot Courage
North Whatcom Fire & Rescue
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Vice Chair

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Vice Chair

Mike Smith 
Pierce County Fire District #5
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Secretary

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Secretary

Greg Bach
South Snohomish County Fire & Rescue
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Director #1

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #1

Doug Jones
South Kitsap Fire & Rescue
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Director #2

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #2

Paul Spencer 
Fire Fleet Maintenance LLC
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Director #3

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #3

Jim Morris
Mountain View Fire Department
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Director #4

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #4

Arnie Kuchta

Clark County Fire District 6

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Director #6

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #6

Brett Annear
Kitsap County Fire District 18
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Director #5

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #5

Jay Jacks
Camano Island Fire & Rescue
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Legislative Representative

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Legislative Representative

TBD
TBD
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Immediate Past Chair

Posted: Oct 20, 2015

Immediate Past Chair

Brian Fortner
Graham Fire & Rescue

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