Big Prairie Township Fire Department, White Cloud, MI, pumper-tanker. Freightliner 108 cab and chassis; Cummins ISL 450-hp engine.

Apparatus at the town's four fire departments are in need of an upgrade, according to Berlin Fire Department Chief Jim Simons, who also serves as the town's fleet manager and its fire safety administrator. The departments are asking for the purchase of two major items -- a pumper truck and a ladder truck. The price tag is approximately $1.6 million.

The good news, however, is that $920,000 remains from a bond that was authorized in 2006 to replace fire equipment. The town is looking to borrow $700,000 to cover the rest of the bill. A public hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. regarding the bond.

Mayor Mark Kaczynski said he had a meeting with Simons and representatives from the four departments (Berlin, East Berlin, Kensington and South Kensington) and that they presented a "great plan" that was going to cost the town some money up front, but in the long run would produce savings, and most importantly, provide the fire stations and their crews with what they need.

"Spending some money to buy some new equipment, that's always going to happen," Kaczynski said.

Town Manager Denise McNair said a committee, over the past year, looked at all the apparatus at each of the four stations to see what needed to be replaced. The goal, she added, was to get all departments using the same equipment.

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The Stillwater Fire Department protects about 62 square miles of land -- the majority doesn't have fire hydrants. That makes the "water tender" tanker pumper a critical piece of equipment for transporting water to the scene of a fire.

Two weeks ago, Stillwater took delivery of a new water tender, which replaced a 27-year-old unit. The new unit, which made its inaugural fire call early in the morning of Jan. 22, is very similar to the old unit, but it meets any new standards of the National Fire Protection Association.

"The primary purpose is to bring water to our non-hydranted areas," Capt. Chad Jansen said.

Built by Custom Fire Apparatus, based in Osceola, Wis., the new water tender is packed with features to make it more effective for attacking fires in rural areas.

It can carry 2,000 gallons of water, and it has a 1,000 gallon-per-minute pump. Tucked into the extended front bumper is a length of fire hose that is pre-connected to the tank, so crews can simply pull up to the scene and pull the hose out of the front to have an immediate water supply.

Stowed in a compartment on the driver's side is a drop-down portable tank -- essentially a pool that serves as a reservoir for other pumpers when needed. Using special water chutes, located on three sides of the vehicle, the water tender can offload its 2,000-gallon cargo in less than a minute and run for more water.

For large structure fires, Stillwater can team with nearby departments that have water tenders to form a "water shuttle" to keep the portable tank full.

View photos here stillwatergazette.com

Oklahoma City firefighters at Station 8 are specially trained to handle collapses, whether the cause is an earthquake or a tornado.

They have listening devices to locate victims, special cameras to see inside rubble, massive 90-pound jack hammers and concrete chainsaws to cut through building debris and much more.

Much of this equipment was used to find people in Briarwood and Plaza Towers Elementary in the May 2013 tornadoes. 

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