Lenexa (KS) City Council approved a plan November 1 to donate a decommissioned fire truck to the Shawnee Mission School District, Fox4KC.com reported. 

In 2021, the Lenexa Fire Department decommissioned a Class A fire truck with a 75-foot aerial ladder. The truck was taken out of service due to a crack in the vehicle frame that was later deemed unrepairable based on emergency response vehicle standards, the report said.

In its current state the truck is no longer useful to the fire department and will be donated to the SMSD Blue Eagle program. The Blue Eagle program provides students with a hands-on introduction to potential careers as firefighters, law enforcement agents and EMS, the report said. 

The Blue Eagle program does not currently have a fire truck with a ladder, according to the report. The school will not use the donated truck on roadways. Instead the truck will be used for training students on the operation and use of an aerial ladder, according to the report. 

The Orlinda Volunteer Fire Department received a 2023 Kenworth 2,000-gallon firefighting apparatus recently, SmokeyBarn.com reported.

The new truck came with a price tag of $300,000, according to Orlinda Fire Chief Dusty Johnson, the report said.

The fire truck is a 2023 Kenworth T480 Aero Fire Tanker Truck from Fouts Brothers Fire Equipment in Milledgeville (GA), according to a city official, the report said.

The Prairie Hill Volunteer Fire Department has a new rescue engine in its fleet, KWHI.com reported.

A fire official said the department has acquired a gently used fire truck from Louisiana, the report said. The funds used to purchase the truck were donated by a longtime Washington County resident who recently moved to Louisiana to be closer to her family, according to the report.

The fire truck, named “Cajun Queen”, is the department’s first out rescue engine, the report said. It has seating for a five-person crew, capacity for 1,000 gallons of water, and rescue tools.

The city of Orangeburg received a community facilities grant from the USDA in the amount of $857,075, WLTX.com reported. It’s part of the USDA’s rural healthcare grant program. 

The program funds fire trucks, rescue vehicles, emergency medical care equipment and communications equipment.

The city is using these funds toward reimbursements for three new fire trucks the city purchased earlier this year, the report said. It cost a total of $2.4 million. 

The city is also in the process of purchasing defibrillators that will be placed throughout city buildings, the report said.