The Leland Fire/Rescue is adding a new fire engine to its fleet, wwayTV3.com reported.

Engine 53 has been ordered, nearly three months after members of the group traveled to Louisiana for a pre-construction meeting on the new fire truck, the report said.

This $800,000 engine is set up differently compared to the Fire/Rescue’s current engine companies and will carry additional equipment for water rescue, vehicle extrication, technical rescue, and hazardous materials incidents, according to the report.

Engine 53 and Truck 53 members will also have additional training in special operations and run district wide for any major incidents, the report said.

Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District was awarded $50,241 to replace its 20-year-old air filling station, which is used to fill firefighters’ self-contained breathing apparatus and SCUBA bottles, according to a news release, Patch.com reported.

In addition, the grant will be used to purchase equipment to annually test breathing masks, hazardous materials masks, WMD masks, and other equipment. The Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District will replace all their out-of-date radios, the report said.

The federal grant funds are intended to help the local fire departments improve and replace personnel safety equipment, upgrade to the latest technology, purchase new fire trucks, and hire new firefighters.

FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security award these grants through the AFG program. According to the news release, the purpose of the AFG program is to help fire departments improve their ability to protect the health and safety of the public and their personnel. Since 2001, the AFG program has awarded approximately $7.7 billion in grants to fire departments nationwide that go through a thorough application process, the report said.

On November’s ballot, the city of Flagstaff will be asking voters to approve a $5.287 million bond to address local fire, flood and wastewater infrastructure needs, AZDailySun.com reported.

If passed, Proposition 441 would fund $2,185,000 in replacements for four of the city’s fire response vehicles – two 21-year-old engines and two 22-year-old water tenders, the report said.

Replacements would mean “reliable, safer and more advanced equipment to protect Flagstaff from wildland fire and its devastating impacts,” a fire official said.

The city’s current wildland fire fleet is experiencing up to 35% downtimes due to breakdown, meaning a reduced, less-effective response to fire, according to the report.

The city budgeted more than $3 million for other fire equipment replacements in the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years, but does not have resources available to replace the vehicles, the report said. While it has considered alternate funding sources, impact fees are only available for new or additional units (which does not include replacements) and the city has not yet obtained grant funding, according to the report.

An $875,000 bond ordinance introduced unanimously October 3 provides for various local improvements including funding for the fire, police, and public works departments, and improvements to the Pascack Road-Washington Avenue intersection and town hall grounds, ThePressGroup.net reported.

The first group of upgrades estimated at $298,200 ($284,000 in bonds) goes to the fire department for Scott packs with bottles and masks, the report said.

The bond ordinance sets aside $195,000 ($186,200 in bonds) for new computer equipment for the police department and new portable radios for the fire department, according to the report.