The Milton Freewater (OR) Rural Fire Department lost a Type 6 engine in a burn over during a wheat field fire July 14, 2025, the department said in a Facebook post. A firefighter was treated and released at a hospital for smoke inhalation.

The department was dispatched to a standing wheat fire mutual aid request from East Umatilla Fire and Rescue. Milton Freewater responded with one Type 6 engine, but once the fire entered its district, the department included all its fire resources, which included three Type 6 engines, two Type 3 engines and a tender.

During the fire, there were two incidents within an incident, the department said.

“The first was one of our Type 6 fire trucks was burned over as our crews began to exit an area where they became surrounded by fire at the bottom of a ravine in the area of the windmills and power lines,” the department said. “The crew safely exited with the help of Walla Walla’s engine.

“The second was smoke inhalation suffered by one of our firefighters. The firefighter was transported by our ambulance crew to the hospital for evaluation and treatment.”

The fire on the Oregon-Washington border was eventually contained.

The East Umatilla Fire and Rescue posted the following on its Facebook page: “A HUGE thank you needs to go out to Milton Freewater and Walla Walla fire districts with multiple Type 6 and tenders. Walla Walla District 4 for their dozer, District 8 for a UTV side-by-side, and College Place for a water tender and, of course, the multiple farmers with discs and water tenders.”

The post Type 6 Engine Destroyed in Burn Over Incident in OR appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

The Quicker, Safer, and More Reliable Response Vehicle for Local Environments

ANAHEIM, California (July 10, 2025) – Waev Inc., a leading electric vehicle OEM, launches the all-new GEM Ambulance – a purpose-built, all-electric, street-legal low speed vehicle (LSV) designed for emergency medical services (EMS) response in dense environments such as campuses, cities, communities, entertainment venues, and events.

The GEM Ambulance expands Waev’s commitment to deliver the most complete lineup of commercial electric vehicles for local use – regardless of budget, infrastructure or job. Built to safely, quickly and reliably transport EMS professionals, patients and medical equipment, it offers a smart alternative to full-size vehicles.

The GEM Ambulance features factory-integrated QTAC® EMS skids from MTECH, Inc., providing emergency response professionals with the equipment needed to tend to patients. Developed in partnership with QTAC, a leader in emergency response equipment for UTVs and trucks, the professional-grade skids include:

• Secure patient transport via longboard, stokes basket or stretcher
• Attendant seat next to patient for in-transit care
• Optional roll out and lockable storage
• Lightweight, easily removable mounting system for vehicle reconfigurations
• PolyTough™ construction, a highly durable, UV-resistant polyethylene material known for its rugged performance in the harshest conditions
• Optional O2 bottle and IV mounts
• Skid mounted between the wheels for ultimate stability unlike UTVs or carts
• Two-year warranty

The GEM Ambulance is available now through GEM’s nationwide dealer network. To make procurement easy for qualifying government customers, GEM Ambulance is also available through Waev’s contracts with Sourcewell cooperative purchasing, Texas BuyBoard, General Services Administration (GSA), Defense Logistics Agency heavy equipment procurement program (DLA HEPP) and other state contracts.

The post Waev Launches All-New GEM Ambulance appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

Many of us in the fire service have said repeatedly that thermal imagers (TIs) are not thermometers, yet for some reason when a firefighter looks through the display of his TI, he thinks that the digital number he sees is the temperature of the object he is looking at.

The digital temperature measurement feature on any fire service TI should not be used for exterior and interior structural firefighting as the use of this feature MAY CAUSE ERRORS IN JUDGMENT, WHICH MAY RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH.

National Fire Protection Aassociation (NFPA) 1801, Standard on Thermal Imagers for the Fire Service (2021 ed.), removed the Spot Numeric Temperature Indictor (digital number) from the TI’s Basic Mode but does allow it to return when the TI is switched to TI Basic Plus mode.

Older model fire service TIs that are not NFPA-compliant will be equipped with a spot numeric temperature measurement feature. NFPA-compliant TIs will use a heat color reference bar indicator and digital readout in Basic Plus Mode only as they will have both features in their displays, which will show an approximate surface temperature of a targeted surface.

THE MYTH

The temperature measurement zone on any make and model of a fire service TI is either a small green box or a set of crosshairs in the center of the TI’s display screen. This area measures a noncontact solid (relative) surface temperature that is not 100% accurate. Different materials or the same materials with different composition, surface textures, color, and gloss will not register temperature readings in the same way, resulting in variations in the temperature readings that can vary from ±5° to ±41° (specifications); the reality is plus or minus several hundred degrees.

Another factor affecting temperature measurement is based on the distance to the area being observed, which is called the distance-to-spot (DTS) ratio. The DTS ratio is roughly proportional to the width of the pixel array (640 or 320) divided by the field of view (FOV). So, more pixels (307,200 vs. 76,800) give a higher ratio; larger FOV gives a smaller ratio. Depending on the make/ model of TI, the DTS could range, as an example, from 37:1 (1’×1’×37’) to 73:1 (1’×1’×73’). Understand the TI’s DTS ratio, which tells you about the effective distance from which the TI can accurately measure temperature. Ideally, you should be as close as practical to the object, as the surface temperature area will be larger. Obviously, the farther away you are, the smaller the temperature area gets.

1 An NFPA-compliant TI in Basic Plus Mode showing digital spot temp measurement. Would you trust 119°F (48.3°C) on the window? Look at what this image is telling you. (Photos courtesy of Bullard.)

2 Checking for hot spots using spot temperature measurement.

 

Several factors may affect the temperature reading, such as the following:

• How much heat.
• The material being measured and its ability to absorb or reflect heat (emissivity).
• The object’s temperature.
• The distance from the object being measured as well as the angle at which the object is being viewed.
• The cleanliness of the front germanium lens because of steam, smoke, and soot.
• If the object does not fully fill the center target area, a false reading ma

The annual antique fire apparatus muster and flea market along the banks of the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, hosted by the Pennsylvania Pump Primers, was held July 12.

The Pennsylvania Pump Primers Association is an organization of antique fire apparatus enthusiasts, many of whom own, drive, maintain, and improve their own fire trucks and related vehicles and equipment, according to the organization’s Web site.

The Pump Primers were founded in Harrisburg in 1975 and the following year became the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the national organization the Society for the Preservation and Appreciation of Antique Motor Fire Apparatus in America (SPAAMFAA). Every July the Pennsylvania Pump Primers holds its annual muster in Harrisburg along the banks of the Susquehanna River in Riverfront Park. Over the years the muster has drawn an average of 100 pieces of antique apparatus that participate in activities including static display and active drafting and pumping from the river. The muster also features an extensive flea market and fire related contests and games.

Photos from 49th Antique Fire Apparatus Show: Part 1 | Part 2

Photos by David Traiforos.

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