The Freightliner marks a major step up for the Reedsport department.

"All of our tankers are either 500 gallon or 750," Anderson said. "So this is quite an increase in what we can take to a fire."

The SFD currently has three drones that each cost around $1,150. According to the manager of this nascent drone program, Lt. Todd Powell, the fourth drone will cost $9,000 and will join the fleet any day now. City spokesman Brian Coddington claims that the SFD has already spent around $28,000 on drone-related cameras, batteries, accessories, and the drones themselves.

Thus far, the SFD has gotten to use their new aerial tools in only a few actual emergencies, with a crew of ten trained and FAA-licensed firefighters as part of its team. Lt. Powell is clearly in firm agreement with using this modern tool to keep his men out of harm's way, by establishing the scene beforehand, and then sending his men into the area in question. He explains, "The whole point of the drone program is so we have another way to collect information to make more informed decisions."

After more than a decade as administrative offices, Lawrence’s oldest standing fire station, at 1839 Massachusetts St., is once again home to an active emergency crew.

Medic 1 — comprising an ambulance, its crew and a backup ambulance — moved into the station in August and is expected to stay up to a year, while Fire Station No. 1 at 746 Kentucky St. undergoes a major renovation. Engine 1 — the Kentucky Street fire truck and crew — is being housed in a small temporary building near the station for the duration of the renovation.

Several firetrucks and emergency response crews were on the outer loop of the Beltway between Connecticut Avenue and Rockville Pike to respond to earlier crashes, Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service spokesman Pete Piringer said Tuesday. There had been more than five crashes over the course of an hour that morning in that area of the Beltway.