A tractor-trailer hit a fire engine on Monday while crews were on the scene of a crash on Interstate 85 in NC, according to the Greensboro Fire Department.

No one was inside Engine 61 when it was hit. No one was hurt, including the driver of the tractor-trailer.

The fire truck was heavily damaged, but crews were able to drive it back to the fire station, according to myfox8.com.

The driver of the tractor-trailer was cited with failure to reduce speed to avoid a collision and careless and reckless driving, the report said.

On Saturday, December 17, Brentwood (TN) city and community leaders, along with the Brentwood Fire & Rescue Department, celebrated the official grand opening of the city’s fifth fire station and the arrival of a new fire apparatus, according to a press release.

The $8.6 million project now places Brentwood’s newest fire station in the fast-growing, southeast portion of Brentwood at 9551 Split Log Road.

The new two-bay, two-story fire station will house a single company, or a fire crew of three to four personnel, depending on staffing schedules. The building is approximately 10,000 square feet and includes a public restroom, water fountain, and water bottle fill station for people using the nearby City trail system.

City of Brentwood Vice Mayor, Nelson Andrews, who spoke at the event, said this state-of-the-art facility was built with residents in mind.

“Beginning with the initial concept of the building design, we wanted to make sure it fit into the community. You’ll notice the building façade, materials, and colors of stone and brick chosen are all similar materials used in nearby homes,” Vice Mayor Andrews said. “We kept each of you and your desires in mind when starting to conceptualize this building years ago,” he added. Brentwood Fire and Rescue Chief Brian Goss added, “early on we said we wanted to create a space where residents could stop in, talk to our firefighters, fill their water bottles, and really use this as a community space.” In addition, Chief Goss added, “I want to thank our city leaders and citizens for valuing public safety so much to support and build a functional space like this to keep both firefighters and the community safe.”

Brentwood City Manager Kirk Bednar, who also spoke at the Saturday morning event, talked about how this building will serve Brentwood for many years to come. “When we approached the City Commission about the need for this building, it was with purpose that this facility is where it sits today.”  Bednar talked about the growing southeast section of the city. “With the development of Tuscany Hills, Sonoma, Taramore, Morgan Farms, and Jordan Elementary a few years ago, we anticipated the increase in calls for service,” Bednar said. Brentwood Fire and Rescue Chief Brian Goss el

Nearly $9 million is what the city of West Columbia has after receiving two allotments of money – one in October of last year and another this year, wltx.com reported.

This money is funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) which is the federal law that was passed in March 2021 to provide direct relief to Americans during COVID-times, and to rescue the economy.

Right now, according to a city official, the tentative plan is to give $3.5 million to Meeting Street (road improvement), $4.4 million to Mill Hill (road improvement), and $1 million to the new fire truck with a ladder, the report said.

The city official said they’ve tried fixing the fire department’s ladder truck many times but now it’s to a point where a new one is needed, according to the report.  

Four McMinnville Firefighters’ wives expressed their concerns to the McMinnville city Board of Mayor and Aldermen last week about the recent motion to purchase a fire truck that failed by a 4-3 vote in November, SouthernStandard.com reported.

Emily Barnes, Bailey Rose, Carly Ratley and Jenny Norrod, all wives of firefighters, took the podium to present the board a petition organized by Barnes asking them to purchase a new fire truck, the report said. Barnes submitted the petition to the board on Wednesday which has garnered 356 signatures in support, according to the report.

Here is a summary of their petition, according to the report:

• Fire industry standards state that trucks should be moved from the front line to the reserve at 15 years and should be fully retired at 25 years. McMinnville is out of compliance with this recommendation by two trucks. Please replace engine eight, a 29-year-old frontline, to the reserve so that you have three frontline engines that meet industry standards.
• With your surplus of $5 million, much of that being grant money, we are asking you to amend the budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year in order to purchase a new fire truck.
• Engine seven was to be retired in 2014. And engine eight, the engine that we’re asking you to replace as a frontline, should have been moved to the reserve in 2008, and it should have been retired in 2018.
• Keeping our fire trucks up to date allows our firefighters to do their jobs properly, safely and in a timely manner.
• For our city to provide our firefighters with a new, up-to-date, safe and in-standard truck, our fire department can do what they need to do to keep our city safe. You are also giving me, my family, firefighters’ families and the citizens of McMinnville the comfort in knowing our firefighters have what they need to do their jobs.

They each thanked the board for allowing them the time to present their concerns at the Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting, the report said.