Custom Fab & Body—Silver Bay (MN) Fire Department, pumper-tanker. Spartan Gladiator cab and chassis; Cummins ISX12 500-hp engine; Waterous CSU 1,250-gpm pump.

A bay wall of a Boise Fire Department station was damaged Tuesday  -- by one of the station's own fire trucks.

Initial reports said the accident happened as one of the trucks was pulling out of the station responding to a call, and a compartment door on the side of the truck -- which was inadvertently left open -- caught on a section of a bay wall.

The crew was unable to stop the truck in time.

"The Ada County Paramedics ambulance will continue to run calls as usual, but other nearby fire stations will be assisting with calls while the bay and engine are repaired," Boise Fire Department spokeswoman Tammy Barry said.

For more information, view www.kivitv.com

Costa Mesa is one step closer to building a new fire station on Royal Palm Drive.

The Planning Commission voted unanimously Monday night to demolish the current station built in 1961 at Royal Palm and Adams Avenue and move forward with plans for its replacement.

The City Council will review the project in late 2016, when it plans to award a construction contract. The city plans to break ground in January 2017 and have the station completed by late next year.

The city plans to construct an 11,675-square-foot station with living quarters, a larger fire apparatus bay, a kitchen and offices, as well as training, dining, day and meeting rooms.

A planned open interior courtyard is intended to maximize natural light and circulation.

The new station is designed to accommodate 10 firefighters in individual, dormitory-style rooms. The projected cost is about $8.5 million.

The station was once the Costa Mesa Fire Department's headquarters. Now, fire officials say, foundation and structural problems have left the building noncompliant with modern standards and building codes.

Over the years, the station has become increasingly worn down and cramped. It has just 9,500 square feet of space for firefighters and equipment. The communications equipment shares a space with storage areas just off the main garage. A lack of air circulation means firefighters have to keep doors open and let the smell of diesel engines filter into their gear — or risk electronics overheating.

For more information, view www.latimes.com

Santa Monica firefighters are getting more than $1.5 million in new equipment and gear.

City firefighters responded to more than 16,000 calls last year, including a major apartment fire just last month.

Firefighters opened up their stations and took in those displaced tenants until American Red Cross officials stepped in to provide temporary housing vouchers, said Santa Monica Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Tom Clemo.

A staff report recommended the City do business with two fire equipment vendors, L.N. Curtis and Allstar Fire Equipment, after staff reviewed offers from more than 40 other sellers.

L.N. Curtis was given a purchase order for $1.2 million for various firefighting tools and Allstar received an order for $307,000 in gear, as part of the consent calendar City Council members were scheduled to approve at Tuesday's meeting.

Both companies over the next three years will supply the SMFD with a range of tools, from fire hoses to jaws of life extractor tools to "hand tools, chainsaws, rescue harnesses, ropes and webbing, search cameras, hazardous materials field testing kits, and the like," said staff.

A federal Urban Area Security Initiative grant is fully funding the purchase order with L.N. Curtis. In addition, the city has $740,000 available in this year's fiscal budget from which to draw on for the $1.5 million in purchases, staff said.

Started with some axes, ladders and about 1,000 feet of hose in 1889 by a volunteer group who called themselves the Santa Monica Hose and Ladder Co., the SMFD today is equipped with more than 1,300 feet of hose and turbo-charged diesel engines on each fire truck capable of delivering more than 2,000 thousand gallons of water a minute.

For more information, view www.surfsantamonica.com