The new vehicle is a 2016 Freightliner and is replacing a 1971 GMC military vehicle that the department is retiring from their fleet. The truck is outfitted with a 1,500-gallon water tank, a 200 gallon-per-minute pump, a foam system, a front bumper monitor controlled from inside the cab, and a hand controlled monitor behind the cab.

"Since we are a volunteer department, we can sometimes be short on help," explained Dawn VFD Chief R.L. Johnson. "In theory we can operate the truck's equipment with just two people. Since this truck is more machine oriented, we can fight the fire with fewer firefighters and it will help to take the fatigue off the firefighter."

Dawn VFD, established in 1974, serves a population of 3,500 over 828 square miles of Deaf Smith County.

Texas A&M Forest Service is committed to protecting lives and property through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program, a cost-share program funded by the Texas State Legislature and administered by Texas A&M Forest Service. This program provides funding to rural VFDs for the acquisition of firefighting vehicles, fire and rescue equipment, protective clothing, dry-hydrants, computer systems and firefighter training.

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In this video, Bill Peters covers hosebed considerations for you to incorporate into your next rig.

TargetSolutions, the leading provider of computer-based training management applications for public safety agencies, has been approved to provide fire and EMS departments in the state of New York with 100 percent of their recertification training.

Agencies can now complete the New York Department of Health’s required paperwork to request permission for completing 100 percent of their Three-Year EMS Continuing Medical Education (CME) Recertification Program through TargetSolutions.

“We’re excited about this development because it simplifies the continuing education process for agencies in New York that are using TargetSolutions, or agencies that are about to implement the platform,” said TargetSolutions’ Director of Product Andrea Letzring. “In the past, agencies could use TargetSolutions for 50 percent of the required training. Now, the entire CME requirement can be fulfilled utilizing TargetSolutions. This is a huge benefit to agencies because it streamlines training, saving valuable time, and resources.”

The City of Olean (NY) Fire Department was the first agency to submit the required paperwork, which includes six mandatory questions with detailed answers made available by TargetSolutions. The department’s Line Supervisor Tim Richardson was thrilled to learn the application was accepted.

“It’s hard to complete continuing education requirements without something like TargetSolutions,” Richardson said. “An online system keeps you coordinated and puts all of the training at our fingertips. Having 100 percent online was important for us. It gives us the ability to instantaneously determine where everyone is at from a training perspective.”

TargetSolutions features more than 160 hours of accredited online EMS training that is accepted in the state of New York. In addition, TargetSolutions is organizationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation Pre-Hospital Continuing Education (CAPCE).

Emergency responders in the state of New York are required to complete 72 hours of training every three years. Now, the entirety of that requirement can be fulfilled online with TargetSolutions.

If you would like more information on TargetSolutions’ ability to provide fire and EMS departments in New York with 100 percent of their recertification training, please contact us at (800) 840-8046.

ESSEX, Conn. (WTNH) — A 80-year-old man was killed on Tuesday night, after crashing into an Essex engine that was blocking off the right lane of Route 9.



Connecticut State Police say they responded to a two-car crash on Route 9 South in Essex around 7 p.m. on Tuesday evening. With the help of the Essex Fire Department, troopers closed the right lane just north of exit 3, to handle the accident.

Troopers say that Essex firefighter James Mack had his engine lights on, blocking traffic, when William Spitzschuh drove into the apparatus. The 80-year-old from Deep River was reportedly traveling in the right lane when he collided with Mack’s truck.