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.

At its December 13 meeting, the Derby City Council approved a resolution authorizing bond financing to purchase a replacement fire engine for Derby Fire & Rescue in January 2023, DerbyInformer.com reported.

Pierce was selected as the manufacturer for the new engine, to be built at a cost of $864,087, the report said.

The council also authorized the purchase of emergency radios for the fire department at the same meeting.

A city official noted the radios are part of the final round of purchases to bring local departments in compliance with Sedgwick County as it phases into new emergency radio technology. All agencies in the county are making the switch to phase two compliant radios, the report said.

While Sedgwick County’s purchasing contract expired, Derby was able to utilize Johnson County to purchase the new radios at a total cost of $555,519, according to the report.

The Roseville Fire Department announced on Facebook last month that it took delivery of a brand new ambulance, the post said.

“We will be taking delivery of two additional ambulances in late January, and will have three new ambulances in service for our residents. These ambulances will be replacing our current ambulances that have over 200,000 miles on them,” according to the post.

The Park Hills Fire Department is preparing a new fire truck for service after the custom-built emergency vehicle was delivered to the fire station earlier this month, DailyJournalOnline.com reported. The department hopes to have the new apparatus on the road responding to calls as soon as mid-January.

The heavy-duty emergency vehicle will be used primarily as its EMS response unit. Classified as a mini-pumper, the custom apparatus was built on a 2022 International CV Series truck chassis and designed by the department to meet specific needs.

The Park Hills City Council approved the fire truck purchase in September, accepting a bid from Deep South Fire Trucks Inc. to supply the truck for $255,983, the report said.

For fighting fires, the truck holds about 450 gallons of water, and its powerful pump can move 750 gallons of water per minute with external pump panel controls providing practical street access to the engineer operating the system on the scene, according to the report.

Some other notable features of the unit include a rear-facing camera with infrared capabilities and a 7-inch monitor, a 12,000-pound-capacity winch that can be easily fastened to each of the truck’s four sides for winching in all directions, specialty rear seats that accommodate the self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) oxygen tanks worn on the backs of the firefighters, polished aluminum diamond plate running boards, bright LED lighting, and plenty of waterproof storage compartments for rescue equipment and other tools, the report said.