Alex Muegge

The Sacramento Bee

(MCT)

Folsom Fire Department volunteer services has added three new vehicles to its fleet, according to a city of Folsom press release on Thursday.

The city purchased the vehicles with funds from state grants, a Sacramento County transient occupancy tax grant, Friends of Folsom community emergency response team (CERT) 501c3 fundraisers and the Intel Foundation’s Volunteer Matching Program, according to the release.

Friends of Folsom CERT 501c3 fundraisers received approximately $10,000 from the Intel Foundation, which makes monetary donations based on reported employee volunteer hours.

“I think it just kind of speaks volumes to the backing that we have within the city and the volunteers that actually want to come in and do that time and support the city for CERT purposes,” said Folsom Fire Chief Ken Cusano.

The three new vehicles include CERT37, a retired and converted Folsom Fire Department ambulance used for team transport and trailer hauling. It has already been used to set up a first aid station and provide firefighter rehab.

There is also a 25 feet long trailer used for incident command for deployments and firefighter rehab for large incidents. The trailer, REHAB37, has indoor and outdoor showers, a toilet, sink, generator, heating and cooling, a microwave and a coffee and hot water maker, according to David Brock, a lieutenant with the volunteer organization.

Lastly, the volunteer services acquired an all-terrain vehicle designed for medical patient transport in off-highway situations and team transportation dubbed CERTUTV. It has scene lights, a PA system, electric air horn, code three flashers and more added by Folsom CERT members, according to Brock.

Cusano said it is cheaper for CERT to repurpose a retired ambulance than to purchase a brand new one which would cost roughly $380,000.

Jake Bisetti, fire captain with the Folsom Fire department and CERT program coordinator, said that the trailer was custom built for the program by ProPac Inc. and cost approximately $34,000. He said half of the total was provided through the transient occupancy tax grant and the rest was fundraised.

Bisetti said the all-terrain vehicle cost $26,000 and was paid for entirely through Friends of Folsom CERT 501c3 fundraising.

“(CERT) fulfill(s) many roles and they help us out throughout the department,” Cusano said. “They don’t respond on actual day-to-day emergency incidents. They’re there to fill more of a logistical type role.”

©2022 The Sacramento Bee. Visit sacbee.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Sam Galski

Standard-Speaker, Hazleton, Pa.

(MCT)

Oct. 26—Hazleton Fire Department expects delivery of two new pumper trucks within the next two weeks while a new ladder truck could arrive early next year, the city’s fire chief said.

An ongoing effort to upgrade the fire department’s fleet resumed recently with a vote cast by city council to sell a 2002 KME pumper truck and a 1987 Mack pumper truck.

Two 2021 model pumper trucks that will replace those vehicles should arrive within the next week or two, Fire Chief Donald Leshko said.

After radios and other equipment are installed, crews will train on the new pumpers before they are placed into service in two to three more weeks, Leshko estimates.

The pumper trucks will be stationed at the Diamond and 14th Ward fire stations, effectively giving the entire north side of the city a boost in fire protection, Leshko said.

“This will give more solid protection, not only for firefighters but for the citizens we are trying to protect,” he said.

A third vehicle that is part of the estimated $2.4 million fire apparatus upgrade — a 2021 ladder truck — will be delivered in early- to mid-2023, Leshko said. That vehicle replaces a 1995 KME ladder truck and will be stationed at the Southside Fire Station on East Broad Street.

Efforts to upgrade the city’s fire fleet date to October 2020, when council authorized the city to sign a purchase agreement. A resolution approved at the time capped the purchase price at $2.5 million, though officials said the price could change when the custom-built vehicles get to the design phase.

Administrators initially planned to pay for the new vehicles by refinancing debts and floating a $3 million bond issue.

The refinancing, however, did not go forward as the city instead opted to use money from a number of accounts to pay debts.

Administrators have since earmarked $2.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to pay for the three fire vehicles.

In hindsight, Leshko said the decision to buy the three vehicles at once rather than spacing out the purchases over several years saved the city at least $600,000 when considering prices that have skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We saved a great amount of money just because of everything going on with the economy (and) parts and supplies,” Leshko said. “It’s taking a little while to get the order. With parts, supplies and manufacturing there’s been a delay but it’s something that everyone is experiencing. On the positive side, it was a collaborative effort by the fire department, administration and council. We saved a drastic amount of money.”

Advantages

Leshko said the new apparatus will help firefighters operate more efficiently and effectively and cut down on costly repair projects on older apparatus.

The new vehicles are covered under warranty for two years, he said.

Officials will also no longer have to hunt down parts for older vehicles that can be difficult to find or have to be completely rebuilt, he said.

“With the 1987 Mack, we had a fuel pump go in it,” he said. “We had to have it rebuilt in Michigan and had to have it reinstalled. You can’t get a fuel pump for it. With the newer rigs, everything is modernized and efficient.”

Inventory

The new vehicles will join a fleet that consists of a 2017 KME pumper, a 2008 KME pumper and a 2011 KME ladder truck.

Officials will accept bids for the 1987 Mack pumper and the 2002 KME pumper for about two more weeks and will be available until the new apparatus goes into service, the chief said.

Proceeds from the sale of the

After years of using hand-me-down apparatus, Terra (UT) has gotten its first new fire truck, ever, in its 40-year history, according to a report published by KSLTV 5.

According to the report, the new brush truck cost about $100,000and was funded by Tooele County under the Utah Cooperative Wildfire Systems. It is equipped with firefighting and medical gear.

Before the new truck arrived, firefighters could not depend on the apparatus being reliable and often joked they shouldn’t turn off the trucks until they returned to the station for fear of them not starting again, according to the report.

Residents in Riverside Village (IL) will have new fire apparatus protecting the community after the village board members voted to purchase a new Pierce Enforcer pumper for $698,000, according to a report published by the Riverside-Brookfield Landmark.

According to the report, the new engine cost $698,000 and is being paid for with some of the roughly $1.2 million the village received from the American Rescue Plan Act fund. And, because the apparatus was bought through a consortium of government agencies purchasing program, the village did not have to go through a competitive bid process, the report said.

The new engine will be completed within 18 to 20 months, according to the report.