WSAW

The Minocqua Fire Department moved into a new $3 million home this year and it was meant for a growing department. It has a gym, more training space and more garage space, something that was needed in the old building. This will allow the department to store more equipment on-site and accommodate new trucks if they need them.

It has a gym, more training space and more garage space, something that was needed in the old building.

This will allow the department to store more equipment on-site and accommodate new trucks if they need them.

"It's three to four times the size of the one we moved out of. It seems like a lot of extra room now, but we'll be filling it up shortly with different seasonal things, boats, ATV's and winter type off-road vehicles for snowmobile accidents," Minocqua Fire Chief Andy Petrowski said.

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Wiscnews

It can be hard finding a place to do your work when it involves breaking in doors and starting fires, but the Portage Fire Department now has some space and new tools to train firefighters. The department held an open house Saturday at the Portage Fire Department Training Facility off Highway 33 at Wauona Trail.

In the new smokehouse they will have the luxury of filing it up with smoke and swinging axes wherever they please. Also, as they get practiced with the building, Simonson explained, there are plans for installing temporary walls that will allow firefighters to go into the house not knowing its layout.

The basement door leads to a dark cramped space in another part of the disused tank, which is also accessible through an outside door, like a manhole cover, meant for training in confined space operations.

Before the development of the training facility, Portage and surrounding firefighters would need to go to Madison to have access to training grounds and equipment, with the new facility eliminating much of that recurring expense in time and travel costs.

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Buffalonews

The North Tonawanda Fire Department celebrated its new light rescue vehicle at an event Friday. The city paid half the cost of the $200,000 truck, with a state grant lined up by State Sen. Robert G. Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, providing the remainder of the money.

The new vehicle will carry the department's rescue equipment, including the Jaws of Life for opening wrecked vehicles, and a supply of spare oxygen bottles for firefighters.

"Due to the fact that this vehicle goes on every call, it will play a vital role in the department's operations. The old vehicle was eight years old with over 100,000 miles on it," Fire Chief Joseph Sikora said. "With cooperation from the senator's office and the city, we were able to make this happen."

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New Rochelle: Fire Station #2 Closed for Renovations

Journal News

CLOSE NEW ROCHELLE - Fire Station #2 on Webster Avenue closed this month for renovations that are expected to take a year to complete, city officials said in a news release. "When finished, these repairs and upgrades will enable our personnel to deliver fire department services more quickly and efficiently," Fire Chief Louis DiMeglio said.

The station was built in 1923 and officials said the aging structure is in need of a major overhaul to house today's trucks.

During renovations, the station’s trucks will be split between the Drake Avenue and Harrison Street firehouses, officials said. The company’s response time to emergencies is expected to remain similar.

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