The NM State University Fire Department will unveil a new fire engine to mark the start of Fire Prevention week on Friday, KTSM.com reported.

On October 14, NMSU firefighters will present the 2022 Alexis Class A pumper during a public open house 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at the NMSU Fire Department at the Las Cruces campus, the report said.

The event will feature a customary “push-in” ceremony and activities to promote fire safety and engage with firefighters – 70 percent of whom are NMSU students, the report said.  

In addition to unveiling the new fire engine, Friday’s open house will also feature Doña Ana County’s mobile fire prevention trailer, which will have hands-on fire safety demonstrations, according to the report. 

The NMSU Fire Department is one of five fire stations in Doña Ana County that will receive new engines this year, the report said.

James Mayse

Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.

(MCT)

The Owensboro Fire Department is seeking bids to replace its large firefighting boat. An official with the fire department said Monday a vendor to construct the boat will be chosen in early November.

The city issued a request for bids for a new fire rescue boat Monday.

OFD Battalion Chief Richard Peach said the department is looking to purchase a 29- to 30-foot-long boat that would have firefighting capability and equipment such as sonar for water emergencies.

The department has a fireboat that is about 10 years old, but the company that built the boat is no longer in operation.

Peach said the current boat has has some issues, but that its biggest deficiency is its design.

The current boat is fiberglass, while department officials are seeking a metal boat. Boats with metal hulls are easier to repair when damaged, Peach said.

“The upkeep on (metal boats) is a little better,” Peach said. The department would also like to replace the current boat, which has a “Tri-V” hull, because the style is more susceptible to damage than a “Deep V” hull, Peach said.

Overall, the current boat is fit the department’s needs on the water.

“We are replacing it a little bit early, but we have had some issues,” Peach said. The boat “was not conducive to what we needed,” although officials didn’t know that when the boat was purchased, he said.

“It has definitely served its purpose,” but does not match the department’s current needs, Peach said.

With the city hosting river events like the Owensboro Air Show and HydroFair, there was a impetus to replace the current boat.

“We decided to go ahead and replace it because we are having so much activity on the river,” Peach said.

The boat will have current technology and will have a pumper that can pump 500 gallons of water or more per minute, Peach said.

Other details will be worked out with the vendor chosen to build the boat.

The hope is to have the boat ready, and to have crews trained, in time for next year’s Air Show, Peach said.

James Mayse, 270-691-7303, jmayse@messenger-inquirer.com, Twitter: @JamesMayse

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Ferrara—Somerdale (NJ) Fire Department rescue pumper. Cinder cab and chassis; Cummins L9 450-hp engine; Hale Qmax 2,000-gpm pump; 500-gallon polypropylene water tank; low hosebed; Ferrara extruded aluminum body; Harrison 15-kW generator. Dealer: Jonathon VanNorman, FF1 Apparatus, Sparta, NJ.

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A decommissioned fire truck was stolen and found abandoned in a residential neighborhood in Niagara Falls early Monday, police say, GlobalNews.ca reported.

In a news release, Niagara Regional Police said officers responded to Buckeye Crescent, near the QEW and McLeod Road, at around 1:30 a.m. for a report of a possible abandoned stolen vehicle.

Police said a full-sized fire truck was found in the middle of the road, according to the report.

Witnesses report that at approximately 1:30 a.m. they saw two persons believed to be youth males exit the truck and run from the area, the release said.

The fire truck had damage to its passenger-side front bumper, windshield and mirror, officers said, according to the report.

Firefighters went to the scene and told officers that the truck was decommissioned and not being used by the department, the report said.

Anyone with information on the incident is being asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers anonymously.