On November 1, community and state leaders unveiled a valuable asset to the Hanceville Fire Department: a new truck to be used for medical response in Cullman County’s growing municipality, CullmanTribune.com reported.

The truck, equipped with an automatic chest compression machine and other critical medical equipment, was provided thanks to funds from the Tyson Foods settlement, the report said. 

The Tyson Foods facility in Hanceville in 2019 discharged illegal wastewater into the Black Warrior River resulting in its damaged ecosystem and fish kills numbering approximately 175,000, the report said. A lawsuit on behalf of the State of Alabama was filed against Tyson for violation of the Alabama Water Pollution Control Act and the Environmental Management Act. 

After the $3 million settlement for one of the largest fish kills in the state, the Restitution Fund Oversight Committee was formed, which is tasked with project selection and oversight for the settlement. Criteria for funds include projects which provide recreational opportunities, highlight the state’s natural resources and benefit the impacted areas’ public and environment health.

When a fire broke out on Susan Drive in Saugus (MA) last week, the first due companies for the area were on the west side of town, responding to another alarm at the end of Forrest Street. That, according to the Saugus Firefighters’ Union, left companies “behind the eight ball” as they raced to the scene, ItemLive.com reported.

While no one was wounded in the blaze, the union took to Facebook to once again call for the town to construct a third fire station in west Saugus, which they say would alleviate issues like the ones faced in the response to the Susan Drive fire.

Firefighters gathered at Hughes Springs Volunteer Fire Department Sunday to salvage what records and equipment they could from the mangled I-beams and collapsed rooms of their wrecked building, KLTV.com reported.

It could take a week to clear all the downed trees and debris in this East Texas city slammed by tornadoes this past Friday night, the report said.

Randy Jones arrived at the station Friday night, preparing chainsaws and emergency equipment expecting to help in damage areas, not knowing what was coming next, the report said. Jones somehow got underneath a vehicle, then a workbench toppled over, possibly shielding him from flying debris. He was unscathed while the building around him was wrecked.

The fire department received calls from the public offering assistance as the Facebook post below shows.

Officials in Edmunds County (SD) said 13 departments responded to a grass fire between Bowdle and Roscoe Sunday, according to the Edmunds County Emergency Management.

Tractors with discs attached also helped contain the fire. The fire burned around 12-miles long and from a half-mile to a mile and a half wide at times.

A fire truck and tractor were damaged, but no one was hurt.