RACQUEL MUNCY
Skagit Valley Herald, Mount Vernon, Wash.
(TNS)

MOUNT VERNON — The Mount Vernon Fire Department hosted a ribbon cutting and open house Saturday at its newly remodeled LaVenture Road station.

The fire station is at 1901 N. LaVenture Road, across the street from Skagit Valley College.

Fire Chief Bryan Brice said the remodel included creating more work space, health and safety improvements, and making the building seismically stable.

“We had outgrown the space,” Brice said of the building prior to the remodel.

He said there were not enough offices for the administration team that works out of the building, let alone enough space for firefighters to train or fill out reports.

Health and safety improvements have included creating a decontamination chamber and showers for the firefighters to use before going into the office or living spaces.

It also included creating a storage space for bunker gear, so the gear was not sitting right by the exhaust of the diesel engines.

Assistant Fire Chief Bryan Harris said his favorite improvement is the fire station doors. Rather than the typical roll-up garage door, the station now features folding doors with red frames.

The new doors not only look nice, but will be easy to maintain and are easy to open in case of a power outage.

The LaVenture Road station remodel is one of two completed on Mount Vernon fire stations. The Division Street station had a remodel completed in September 2023.

Both remodels were funded with a $12.5 million bond the Mount Vernon City Council approved in 2022.

Brice the bond is being paid back with reimbursements for ambulance transportation of Medicaid patients.

Brice said the city receives about $900,000 a year from those reimbursements.

With the LaVenture Road and Division Street stations remodels completed, the city now turns its attention to the downtown station.

Harris this past year the City Council directed the department to move forward on getting a new design, scope of work and cost estimate for building a new downtown station.

The department is in the midst of working with a contractor to gather the information, and from there Harris said it will be up to the City Council whether to move forward.

In 2019, the city asked voters to pass a $30 million bond for work on the three stations, including replacing the downtown station, but the ballot measure failed.

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(c)2024 the Skagit Valley Herald (Mount Vernon, Wash.)

Visit the Skagit Valley Herald (Mount Vernon, Wash.) at www.goskagit.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Firefighters responding to a brush fire in West Sacramento ran over two people, killing one person and injuring another, the police department said, kcra.com reported.

Crews were responding to the report of a brush or vegetation fire along railroad tracks, using a “spotter” to guide them through a debris-strewn area, the report said. That’s when the brush truck drove over a carpet on a dirt trail. Two people were later found under the carpet, according to the report.

The man died and the injured female was taken to UC Davis Medical Center and is in stable condition, officials said.

The fire department personnel involved in the accident will be on paid administrative leave, the police department said.

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Ishani Desai
The Sacramento Bee
(TNS)

A dead body discovered Friday by authorities in West Sacramento extinguishing a vegetation fire prompted a death investigation, police said.

Firefighters and police were called just before 11 a.m. to train tracks near Jefferson Boulevard and Sacramento Avenue for a vegetation fire, said Taylor Nelson, a spokeswoman for the West Sacramento Police Department.

Authorities found the body at the scene, Nelson said.

An investigation is underway to determine how the person died and their identity.

The Springfield Fire Department blessed and added two new fire trucks to the fleet Thursday, Oct. 17 at the Mason Square Firehouse, the department said in a Facebook post.

The new apparatus include Truck 2, a Pierce mid-mount platform aerial, and a Rescue Squad, a Pierce Ascendant, both of which will be stationed at the Mason Square Firehouse.

The ceremony was attended by Commissioner Calvi, Mayor Sarno, Bishop Timmothy Bayman, Deputy Chief McCaffrey, District Chief Tyrone Denson, and other SFD members.

The blessing was performed by Bishop Timothy Bayman. Great job by our repair division for their hard work in preparing these vehicles for service, the department said.

Specifications

Chassis	Enforcer™
Body	Ascendant® 100’ Heavy-Duty Aerial Tower
Actual Overall Height	10′ 11″
Engine	PACCAR MX-13
Horsepower	510 hp
Front Suspension	TAK-4® Independent Front Suspension
Rear Suspension	Air
Electrical System	Command Zone™

By Mike Ciampo

Union Township, New Jersey, which sits due west and not far from Newark Liberty International Airport, is comprised of residential, commercial and industrial areas. The area is a close commute for residents into New York City or to downtown Newark, New Jersey, via major roadways or by rail.

Union’s downtown construction is booming with new mid-rise residential buildings bringing more residents into the area. New Jersey Transit runs commuting and freight trains through the town and major highways such as: Interstate 78, The Garden State Parkway, and NJ State Routes 22 and 82 run through the community. These roadways are often the scene of major extrications and hazardous material incidents due to the cargo being shipped daily via the routes.

The Union Fire Department is a career department that operates four shifts out of three firehouses. It is responsible for fire, rescue, emergency medical service, and fire prevention duties for the community and at Kean University.

Currently, Union Fire operates the following apparatus:

Fire Headquarters

• Engine 1 is a 2018 Pierce Enforcer
• Squad 1 is a 2024 Pierce Enforcer (described below)
• Rescue 1 is a 2013 Dodge Ram/Wheeled Coach Ambulance
• Special Operations Unit is a 2000 American LaFrance 3D rescue body
• Rescue boat double stack trailer with two Avon inflatable and one Zodiac Boat

Station 2

• Engine 2 is a 2015 Pierce Velocity
• Ladder 2 is a 2019 Pierce Arrow 107-foot Ascendant rear-mount aerial ladder
• Rescue 2 is a 2020 Ford PL Custom ambulance

Station 3

• Engine 3 is a 2020 Pierce Arrow
• Truck 3 is a 2024 Ascendant 100-foot aerial platform
• Rescue 3 is a 2017 Dodge Ram/Custom Works Ambulance

The department also responds with the Urban Area Security Initiative and the Neptune Water and Foam Task Force when requested.

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