At 10:31 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 8, Mecosta County Sheriff's deputies responded to a crash involving a car and an ambulance at the northbound Perry Street exit on U.S. 131, said Deputy John Bongard.

Police said a 32-year-old Grant woman's vehicle slid through the stop sign at the exit and struck the ambulance, which was traveling east on Perry Street.

The first vehicle slid due to speed and poor weather conditions, police said.

The Grant woman was pinned in her car and had to be extricated by Big Rapids Township Fire Rescue.

The unit is being developed by a collaboration of 15 entities, including Laser Zentrum Hannover, Coherent, five project partners and eight associated partners.

Falling traffic fatality rates over the past 25 years can be attributed to the use of high-tensile steel and high strength composite materials in modern cars. The higher vehicle stability achieved by using these materials, however, becomes a problem in the event of an accident where a passenger becomes trapped in wreckage. Rescue tools that are currently available, such as power, plasma or hydraulic rescue cutters require a lot of time to cut through the high strength materials, or even fail in certain cases.

The compact laser unit is intended to be used when conventional rescue tools are insufficient on their own. With the new system, it will be possible to cut modern materials in a short time, or simply broach them so that they can be cut faster with conventional tools.

The collaboration will also investigate whether the safety of using lasers at the site of an accident can be guaranteed. Scientists will evaluate which measures must be taken to protect rescue teams, accident victims and other people at the scene. This could involve the use safety curtains, mats and protection glasses.

It was mentioned by Garrett that when the Honda train passes, it blocks two or three intersections that act as dividers separating the initial station from the south side.

Garrett said that, as of right now, full-time operations are expected to begin on Dec. 15. The total cost of the project is approximately $305,000 with Washington Township contributing roughly half of that number.

With this new station, the GFD will share a building with the Greensburg Police Department at 201 S. Broadway. The fire department will be stationed near the back of the building, which will also be connected to a large bay, allowing the storage of one fire engine. Garrett also mentioned that two firefighters and one EMT stationed at the new facility.

After years of wear caused by heavy fire engines being parked inside and earth shifting due to being so close to Clark Lake, the floor of the township's secondary fire station at 195 Hyde Road has become warped and uneven in spots, causing concerns that the department's newest truck may be damaged while trying to squeeze it into the station.

"We can still fit the truck inside the Clark Lake station, but it's a little too close for comfort for us," said Columbia Township Fire Chief Scott Cota.

The interior of the station was measured to ensure the new truck would fit. It wasn't until the later that fire crews noticed the uneven flooring causing the truck to rise closer to a support beam inside the station that comes uncomfortably close to hitting the truck's emergency lights.

A contractor was brought in to make a complete measurement of the interior of the station with a laser and found the clearance height varied from 11 foot one inch to 12 feet in parts of the station, Cota said.

The new truck itself, a 1,500-gallon fire engine, was purchased in July and sits at about 9 foot 5 inches high.