A Moline Central Fire Station official said the old downtown building that houses the fire department has “exhausted its use,” QCTimes.com reported. 

Located at 1630 Eighth Avenue, a few blocks from City Hall and the police station, the brown-brick building houses emergency vehicles, administrative offices and the city’s finance department.

From the outside, the building looks well put together, the report said. A six-bay apparatus garage and bright red lettering over beige paint tell passersby it’s the Moline Central Fire Station.

But the inside, the boiler from the 1970s no longer has available replacement parts; the dated HVAC system units have water leaking from them constantly; lead must be abated; plumbing needs to be repaired; pieces of flooring are missing; sleeping quarters are above the garage, according to the report. 

City officials have made clear that a new fire station is needed, especially because of firefighters utilizing the building 24/7. A relocation study currently is underway, and results are to be presented to council by December, a city official said.

The estimated construction cost is between $10 and $15 million with demolition costing $440,000. To help cover the costs, the project would require a tax-levy increase projected at $0.10-$0.15 on 20-year bonds at a 4.2% interest rate, the report said.  

The Alcoa Fire Department said recently that two of its trucks — one manufactured in 1995 and the other in 2004 — were past due for replacement, TheDailyTimes.com reported.

After a needs analysis and multiple rounds of approval, the fire department took possession in late September of two brand new fire trucks from Pierce Manufacturing, the report said. After a long process of outfitting and moving over equipment from old to new vehicles, the last of the two finally entered service Thursday, October 21.

Each truck cost $750,000, the report said. Every compartment has been customized to the needs of the department, and firefighters were even able to choose the cabin layout for the trucks.

All fire trucks are expected to last 20 years as a front-line vehicle, the report said. After trucks becomes too old to use every day, the department uses them as backup in case of emergency calls. After being decommissioned, trucks are often donated to volunteer fire departments. One of the old AFD trucks, for example, is being donated to the Tellico Village Volunteer Fire Department.

There is a rusty 1946 Mack fire truck permanently on display at the Easton (CT) Volunteer Fire Department and will possibly get a much-needed makeover or be restored through fundraising events, EastonCourier.News reported.

After the old truck was retired from service, the once bright red truck leap-frogged around town because no one knew exactly what to do with it. Many hands have tinkered with it. It’s been bought, then sold, and bought again. No one knew if they really wanted it, the report said.

Around 2009, the department bought the truck for $5,000, 11 years after firefighters voted to get rid of it, according to the report.

A fire official said the fire department should keep its original fire apparatus because it is part of the department’s history and can inspire future firefighters to join the ranks, the report said.

Matti Gellman

The Kansas City Star

(TNS)

One firefighter remains seriously injured and another was released from the hospital with minor injuries after a grass fire blazed through 15 acres north of Buckner on Friday, according to a statement from the Fort Osage Fire Protection District.

Officers responded to the fire shortly after 2:15 p.m. on Friday in the 3100 block of East Blue Mills Road, said District Fire Chief Jared White, a spokesman for the department.

Neighboring crews were called in to help as the fire engulfed about 2 or 3 acres of land and continued to widen as a field across Blue Mills Road lit up. At its peak, the fire spread across nearly 15 acres, destroying several small outbuildings.

A Fort Osage crew that was using a brush truck — a small fire-fighting rig used specifically for small brush fires — became surrounded by heavy smoke and its occupants were forced to evacuate.

Both of the truck’s occupants were transported by ambulance to the hospital on Friday. The truck they had been in was destroyed in the blaze.

The fire was brought under control by 4 p.m., but flare-ups continued through the evening and into early Saturday morning.

One of the officers remains hospitalized in serious condition, White said on Saturday afternoon.

The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Missouri State Fire Marshal’s Office, he said.

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