Pierce—Annandale (MN) Fire Department combination command/rescue. Freightliner M2 106 cab and chassis; Cummins L9 360-hp engine; 21-foot 8-inch walk-in rescue body. Harrison 10-kW generator; 5-person seating with flip-up command table; multiple storage compartments; Norcold DE105 refrigerator. Dealer: Dan Corcoran, MacQueen Emergency, Apple Valley, MN.

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Construction officially began Wednesday on a new fire station along Route 20 in Sudbury (MA), Patch.com reported. The town held a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the current Fire Station No. 2 Wednesday. The new station will be built in front of the current one.

In May 2021, Sudbury Town Meeting approved spending $4.3 million to upgrade and expand the station at 550 Boston Post Road, the report said. The town borrowed about $3.3 million of the total cost, with the rest coming from existing funds.

The expansion will add four new bunk rooms, a kitchen and other facilities to support four firefighters and an ambulance, the report said. A fire official said new age-restricted developments along Route 20 have added hundreds of emergency calls to that area in recent years, making the larger station necessary, according to the report.

To see the project overview from 2021, click here.

The Grayling Fire Department has a new vehicle to replace an aging part of its fleet – a 2011 Spartan ladder truck capable of reaching heights of 100 feet – and the vehicle recently began its service to the community, CrawfordCountyAvalanche.com reported.

Earlier this year, the Grayling Charter Township Board of Trustees approved a proposal to purchase a replacement for the fire department’s existing ladder truck, a vehicle that was “in rough shape” and inadequate for some of the larger structures in the community, including the hospital, township officials said.

Fire department and township officials said replacement parts were difficult to find for the 18-year-old vehicle, and it was getting too costly to make repairs, the report said.

The township board in May approved up to $500,000 (mostly American Rescue Plan Act money) for the purchase of a replacement. The city of Grayling also contributed money, township officials said.

A new ladder truck would have cost approximately $2 million, the report said.

Langford Fire Rescue is set to get a shiny demo fire truck after council approved the purchase during its Monday meeting, GoldstreamGazette.com reported.

The new truck is set to cost $1.15 million, much less than the estimated $2.5 million it would cost to custom build a truck to meet the department’s needs, the report said. The custom truck would also take more than three years to assemble, according to a staff report.

The fire department was able to work down the cost from an initial estimate of $1.9 million by trading in its current truck, which was bought in 1998 and is set to exceed its 25-year lifespan next year, as recommended in the Fleet Replacement Plan and Fire Underwriter’s Survey, the report said.

The new truck, which features a 107-foot ladder, was built as a 2018 model and sent to Asia as a demonstration vehicle, but never used on active duty, according to a Langford fire official.