The facility will prepare future firefighters and support regional fire service training needs.
Bates Technical College will host a groundbreaking ceremony for the Fire Service Training Center on Wednesday, May 28, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at the South Campus Auditorium, 2201 South 78th Street, in Tacoma.
This event marks the beginning of a transformative project that will elevate fire service education and training at the college. The state-of-the-art center will provide students with immersive, hands-on learning opportunities using industry-standard equipment—better preparing them for careers in firefighting and emergency response.
Approved during the 2023 legislative session, the $42 million project will convert the former commercial truck driving lot at South Campus into a premier fire training facility. Fire service training has deep roots at the college, dating back to the program’s start at the Downtown Campus in the 1960s. As the program expanded, it moved to South Campus, where it has grown into one of Bates Tech’s most robust and in-demand offerings.
The facility, designed through a progressive design-build partnership among Miller Hull, BNBuilders, and MW Studios, will feature flexible drill yards, a live-fire training structure, simulated apparatus and fire station areas, and traditional classrooms.
Unique among technical colleges in the region, the live-fire structure will provide advanced, real-world training scenarios —including search and rescue mazes, entanglement drills, and firefighter challenges—to prepare students for both residential and commercial emergencies.
“This building is an investment in the future of our students and the safety of our communities,” said Bates Technical College President Dr. Lin Zhou. “We are proud to provide our students with a learning environment that reflects the realities of the field and meets the rigorous standards of today’s fire service. This project represents our commitment to workforce education and to serving as a trusted training partner for our region’s first responders.”
Replacing facilities that date back to the 1980s, the center will also include modern classrooms, program offices, a physical fitness room, a computer lab, and a mock fire station with vehicle bays. A dedicated EMT training classroom, simulation lab, and ambulance simulator will support the rising demand for emergency medical training and continuing education.
In line with the college’s Sustainability Action Plan, the facility is on track to become Bates Tech’s first all-electric building and a model for future development. Supported by a competitive Washington State Department of Commerce Decarbonization Grant, the project aims for LEED Gold certification. These enhancements reflect the college’s broader commitment to environmental responsibility and long-term community impact.
“The entire team of fire service instructors is thrilled to see this project come to life,” said Adam Cabeza, Fire Service program instructor. “This new facility will provide a more realistic and robust training experience for our students, and create opportunities to expand access to the program and strengthen partnerships with local fire departments. We can’t wait to get started.”
Set to open in 2026, the center will significantly expand the college’s capacity to train future firefighters and first responders— advancing its mission to provide accessible, high-quality technical education and meet growing regional and statewide workforce demands.
Students, employees, alumni, and community members are invited to attend the groundbreaking event and help celebrate this exciting chapter in the college’s history.
To learn more about our Fire Service program,
Read more
- 21
- Article rating: No rating
Posted: May 10, 2025
Joey Oliver
mlive.com
(TNS)
BANGOR TWP, MI – One of mid-Michigan’s hidden gems reopened this month, allowing visitors to step back in time through its plethora of firehouse memorabilia and antique toys.
The Antique Toy and Firehouse Museum opened for the season Saturday, May 3, in Bay County. The museum features one of the world’s largest collections of toy trucks, many of which feature first responder vehicles.
The museum also has a surplus of fire trucks, including everything from horse-drawn apparatuses to Model Ts to more modern vehicles, such as the Bangor Township Telesquirt. The collection includes fire and first responder gems from Bay City, around the Saginaw River, Midland, Detroit and more.
Bangor Township’s Antique Toy and Firehouse Museum was created by founder Jimmie Dobson to preserve the history of mid-Michigan fire service and has grown by curating thousands of antique toys and fire equipment. The museum currently boasts more than 60 firefighting apparatus dating back to 1854, and more than 15,000 antique toys.
The museum also has a room dedicated to the Saginaw River Marine Historical Society, with an exhibit dedicated to Jupiter, a tanker that caught fire and exploded in September 1990 while unloading gasoline in the Saginaw River.
Where
3456 Patterson Road in Bay County’s Bangor Township
When
The museum’s seasonal hours extend from May to October. The museum is open from noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Other visits are permitted by calling ahead. Group tours can also be coordinated by calling ahead.
Admission fees
Admission into the museum is $10 per adult and $7 for seniors and students up to 17 years old. Children 4 and under can get into the museum for free.
Learn more
For more information, visit the museum’s website at toyandfirehousemuseum.org. Those interested can also call 1-888-888-1270 or email info@toyandfirehousemuseum.org.
Want more Bay City- and Saginaw-area news? Bookmark the local Bay City and Saginaw news page or sign up for the free “3@3″ daily newsletter for Bay City and Saginaw.
Want to subscribe to our Hello, Bay City newsletter? Sign up for free here.
©2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit mlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The post MI’s Antique Toy and Firehouse Museum has Everything from Horse-Drawn Apparatus to a Telesquirt appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.
Read more
- 36
- Article rating: No rating
Posted: May 9, 2025
The city of Westfield, Indiana, sits 20 miles north of Indianapolis in Hamilton County and is considered a suburb of the metropolitan area. The Westfield Fire Department was first established in 1904 when the town voted to purchase a hand-drawn chemical engine for the community. Today, the department is operating out of three stations, providing fire protection and emergency medical services (EMS) for more than 56 square miles within Washington Township and the incorporated areas of Westfield.
The department has 97 shift members operating in three battalions. The department runs three engine companies, a ladder company, three ambulances, three battalion chiefs, and three field resource paramedics. All department members are trained to the emergency medical technician basic level, and nearly a third are trained to the paramedic level. The department is also trained to handle a wide variety of specialized incidents involving hazmat, confined space rescue, trench rescue, building collapse, high-angle rope rescue, and water rescues. In addition to these emergency service calls, the department also provides community outreach programs, fire inspections, and fire prevention services.
Engine Company 382 is currently assigned a 2023 Pierce Enforcer with an aluminum body equipped with AMDOR roll-up compartment doors. The rig serves as a rescue-engine carrying medical equipment as well as vehicle extrication tools. It is powered by a Cummins 450-horsepower (hp) L9 engine and has an Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission. It is also equipped with a New York style 750-gallon water tank, an L-shaped tank with a low hosebed, which serves the Waterous 1,500-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pump. The pumphouse is 45 inches wide.
The unit is painted traditional red with three black reflective stripes running along the lower portion of the cab. These stripes then transition upward on the driver’s-side high compartments towards the rear. Above the high-side compartments is outside storage for hard suction hose for drafting operations. The officer’s side has lower-side compartments with portable ladder storage above it, which includes 28-foot two-section extension, 16-foot roof, and 10-foot folding Duo Safety ladders.
The cab has seating for four firefighters with three interior compartments for medical and swiftwater rescue equipment. It features Retrac remote controlled heated mirrors with convex sections to assist the driver in operating the vehicle in harsh conditions. It also has shoreline power and auto-disconnect through the Kussmaul connection on the cab just behind the driver.
Sitting in front of the cab is a 26-inch stainless steel extended bumper with a chrome 5-inch swivel intake pipe. The front bumper has two recessed Grover air horns and two Whelen grilled speakers mounted in it. On top of the bumper sits a Federal Q2B siren. There are also two hose troughs in the bumper, one for 20 feet of 5-inch suction hose and a larger section which holds 150 feet of 1¾-inch hose.
Hose storage is also available in two crosslay troughs behind the crew cab. The rear storage bed has five storage areas separated by dividing walls. These separate the following hose sections of two 300-foot beds of 1¾-inch, one bed of 750-feet of 5-inch supply line, 200-feet of 3-inch attack line with a portable monitor preattached, and one bed of 2½-inch attack line. For additional fire attack tactics, there is a prepiped monitor above the pump panel.
The rig boasts an assortment of Whelen warning and scene lighting. On the cab is a Freedom IV LED lightbar and on the cab’s front brow sits a Pioneer LED scene visor light. At the rear and upper sides of the rig sit two Whelen Rota Beam lights and a Whelen TAL 65 LED traffic light for warning traffic at emergency scenes. The rear end also has Whelen vertical LED cluster lights, which serve as directional, warning, backup, and emergency lighting. Mounted
Read more
- 42
- Article rating: No rating
Posted: May 9, 2025
The Maui Fire Department received a donation of a wildland fire apparatus and placed it into service recently with a blessing ceremony held at the Kahului Fire Station, the department said in a Facebook post.
“This is the first of a total of six wildland fire apparatus that will supplement the capabilities of the department’s current wildland vehicles to help protect our community,” the post said. “These vehicles are being donated by the Daniel R Sayre Memorial Foundation in concert with the Hawaii Community Foundation with matching donations from the Bezos Family Foundation.”
Members of the Sayre foundation and other dignitaries were on hand for the blessing, giving the department the opportunity to express its gratitude for the generous donation.
The post Maui (HI) FD Places First of Six Donated Wildland Fire Apparatus Into Service appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.
Read more
- 39
- Article rating: No rating