Oswego Fire Department was granted bonds by the city October 11 to buy a new vehicle that will replace its last remaining yellow fire truck, Oswegian.com reported. 

The engine being replaced is a 1986 heavy rescue truck that is currently out of commission, according to a fire official.

With the old truck unusable, the fire official said it is a major issue for OFD because they do not necessarily have the equipment they need at the scene. Firefighters currently have to leave the scene and go back to the station to find what they need, load it onto the truck and then go back, the report said.

The city is currently looking to cover the cost of the new truck, a total price of around $1 million, according to a fire official. OFD hopes the new truck will be in Oswego by mid-November, if the bonds are approved this month, and will be fully operational and in use by December 1.

Plans for the vacant lot owned by the city of Holtville north of Holt Park was again the subject of debate, dividing the city council 4-1 over the proposed footprint of the Public Safety Building, HoltvilleTribune.com reported.

The debate centered on whether the Public Safety Building would have its fire apparatus bay exit onto Sixth Street, which is a busy road, or Pine Avenue, into a neighborhood, the report said.

Their solution was to install four-way stop signs on Sixth Street at both Pine Avenue and the neighboring Holt Avenue, thereby slowing down traffic along Sixth Street, which would make it safer for the fire vehicles to pull out onto the street, the report said.

Discussions surrounding these issues will continue into the next city council meeting, including discussion around whether the stop signs will change the options in plans for the Public Safety Building lot, according to the report.

By Alan M. Petrillo

The city of Rawlins (WY) has 8,000 residents in the eight-square mile city, and while that is the main response area for the Rawlins Fire Department, the agency also runs on mutual aid in Carbon County’s 7,980-square miles. The city has a mix of residential, commercial and industrial occupancies, including a number of hotels and churches, while there is an oil refinery six miles outside of town.

Blain Schumacher, Rawlins chief, says that Rawlins Fire Department protects its district with two Type 1 pumpers, a 100-foot aerial platform, a heavy rescue, two Type 6 wildland pumpers, and one ambulance, operating out of two stations. “We’re a combination department with nine full-time paid firefighters, three of them on duty during the day running 48/96 shifts, two administrators, and 15 volunteer firefighters,” Schumacher says. “Our second station is manned during the night.”

Allen Robinson, Rawlins battalion chief, points out that, “This is our first Type 3 wildland urban interface (WUI) all wheel drive engine that is replacing a Type 1 pumper. We wanted something with a big enough pump to fight structure fires, as well as to handle wildland fires.”

Jason Kline, SVI Trucks sales manager for Colorado and Wyoming, notes that Rawlins Fire came to SVI “looking for a multi-function, dual-purpose vehicle, something that could handle the wildfires that they get in that area, but also deal with structure fires too.” The Type 3 WUI engine that Rawlins got from SVI is on a Freightliner chassis with a four-door cab and seating for four firefighters in a clean cab design. The self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) air packs for the four crew members are located on a pull-out tray in the rear compartment on the driver’s side of the rig. Wheelbase on the Type 3 is 197 inches, overall length is 29 feet 4 inches, and overall height is 11 feet.

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