After a long stall during the pandemic, plans for a new Grand Blanc Township Fire Station No. 1 and Department of Public Services facility are back on track and progressing at a good pace, The Davison Index reported.

If the project continues as planned, the township could break ground on the 60,000-square-foot structure by August, and cut the ribbon to open by November 2024, the report said.

The building – which will be two buildings connected with a common room – will be located on the former Playland Park property on Dort Highway. The property measures about five acres, according to the report.

The fire station will accommodate four fire engines and all of the other requisite equipment. All four bays will be pull-throughs with quick access to Dort Highway, according to the report.

The estimated cost for the project is $15 million, a city official said. The township will use some American Rescue Plan Act funds and some water and sewer fund revenues, and will issue bonds for whatever costs those two funding sources don’t cover, the city official said.

The village plan commission approved site and operational plans for Fire Station No. 3 in Prairie Springs Park, 10165 Terwall Terrace, during Monday’s meeting, KenoshaNews.com reported.

The project will move to the village board for contract approval in January. The proposed plans place the new station at the northeast corner of Wis. Highway 165 and Terwall Terrace, the report said. Construction will start in the spring 2023 and be completed in 2024.

Fire Station No. 3 will become the new headquarters for the department, supporting stations No. 1 and No. 2 by aiding in responses to concurrent calls for service, a fire official said.

The 21,350-square-foot building will be comprised of offices, eight dorm rooms, a drive-thru four-door apparatus bay, a day room and a training or conference room, the report said.

With fire apparatus orders taking two or more years to complete, Ottawa City Hall decided to get ahead of the need and is ordering a new fire truck and two ambulances, 1430wcmy.com reported.

The city’s still waiting for a tower truck the fire department ordered in January, the report said.

To try to make sure the city can replace other vehicles when it needs to, Ottawa’s city council Wednesday approved around $1.6 million in purchases to be completed possibly as late as 2026, the report said. A city official said the two ambulances, which cost $348,181 each, would arrive at different times: 2024 and 2025.

The fire truck could take three-and-a-half years. Its cost is $948,000, the report said.

Thomas Tracy, John Annese
New York Daily News
(TNS)

A charter boat skipper says he’s blameless in the death of Belgian firefighter aboard a FDNY craft that crashed into his boat in New York Harbor.

Edward Mattiace, captain of a 36-foot charter boat named The Honcho, has asked a Brooklyn federal judge to clear him of any liability in the death of the Belgian firefighter, Sgt. Johnny Beernaert.

The Belgian firefighter was an unauthorized guest aboard the Fire Department’s Marine 1 Bravo, a 31-foot rigid-hull inflatable fireboat, when the crash occurred about 10 p.m. on the night of June 17.

FDNY Bans Civilians on Fireboats After Death of Belgian Firefighter

Mattiace, who operates under the name New York City Boat Tours, claims he did everything right when a still-unnamed firefighter piloted FDNY Marine 1 Bravo a high-speed joyride, and slammed into his boat near Pier 11, according to the court filing.

In court papers, lawyers for Mattiace maintain he going about 5 mph southwest on the East River, “with his running, navigation, and all-around white mast lights on and functioning properly, while maintaining a proper lookout, and in full compliance of the Inland Rules of Navigation.”

It was the FDNY boat’s pilot who failed to follow the rules, by speeding, not having enough crew members or a proper look-out, and not having the proper lighting or navigation equipment, Mattiace’s court papers say.

The tour company accused whoever was piloting the FDNY boat of taking its four civilian passengers out on an unauthorized “harbor tour.”

Marine 1 Bravo was traveling northwest at a “high rate of speed and without all available navigation equipment” and “without the proper lighting being displayed,” according to the filing.

“Without any negligence” on the part of The Honcho, Marine 1 Bravo “struck the Vessel on her portside bow at a high rate of speed of over 22 miles per hour in violation of the Inland Rules of Navigation,” Mattiace charges in court papers.

The Honcho’s six passengers were uninjured.

The FDNY boat was ferrying Beernaert and his wife, along with a retired FDNY firefighter and his wife.

Beernaert’s estate has filed a notice of claim to sue the city. New York City Boat Tours and Mattiace are asking for a judge’s order either clearing them of any liability for the crash, or limiting their liability to just $25,000 — the post-crash value of the Honcho.

The FDNY has not yet identified the on-duty firefighter at the helm of the boat, and as of Wednesday, the FDNY and Coast Guard’s investigations into the crash still hadn’t wrapped up, according to officials at both agencies.

After the crash, the FDNY dry-docked three Marine 1 fire officers — a lieutenant, a captain and a battalion chief — afterward, by pulling them from their regular duties and giving them administrative jobs within the Marine Unit.

Neither the firefighter on the boat, who the Fire Department says passed all drug and alc