The city of Oskaloosa is set to buy a new fire truck in the coming year, Oskaloosa.com reported.

The Oskaloosa City Council approved a resolution to enter into a contract to buy a new pumper truck for the Oskaloosa Fire Department at its regular meeting Monday night. The current pumper truck used by the department has been in service for over 22 years, according to the Oskaloosa Fire Department, while it only has a life expectancy of 20 years. Given the truck’s long service, the department has determined that it is in need of a new pumper truck.

Originally, the city’s Capital Improvement Plan allotted $690,000 for the purchase of a new fire truck in fiscal year 2024. However, rising inflation has changed matters, the report said.

Rising inflation now places the purchase price of a new fire truck at $800,000. The department has, however, found a demonstration pumper truck available for purchase, the report said. The truck is available for immediate delivery and at a price below the allotted budget for fiscal year 2024.

Demo trucks can be bought at a greatly-reduced price, which is why the city will be able to purchase this truck for an amount not to exceed $600,000, the report said.

The council unanimously approved the resolution and will move forward with the purchase.

Thanks to the Boswell community and a grant from the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, the Boswell Volunteer Fire Department has three new pieces of life-saving equipment, DailyAmerican.com reported. 

In September, the department purchased a new LifePak CR2 automated external defibrillator, or AED, for its rescue engine, according to a post on its Facebook page. The community’s support of the fire department during Boswell Community Days made the purchase of the $1,600 unit possible, according to the post.

Dayton backed out of a proposed deal to purchase a former school building in northwest Dayton, which means the city will have find another site for its new joint police and fire station, DaytonDailyNews.com reported.

An inspection of the former school building on Salem Avenue revealed that the building would be very expensive to renovate and retrofit in order to meet the needs of its public safety forces, the report said.

The Dayton Fire Department is analyzing its fire and emergency medical services data to help create a 20-year station relocation master plan, a fire official said, according to the report. The plan is expected to be done by year’s end.

The Dayton Recovery Plan calls for the city to use about $11 million of its $138 million in federal COVID rescue funds to create a new joint police and fire station in northwest Dayton, the report said.

A pothole popped up in the concrete floor of the East Milton fire station recently and it contributed to the Fire Station Building Committee’s unanimous vote on November 9 to take on the construction of East Milton ahead of the reconstruction of Atherton Fire Station, MiltonTimes.com reported.

The pothole, which began as a crack and grew, has been repaired, but a structural engineer told the town that the issue will need to be checked on a regular basis, the report said.

A fire official said that fire personnel at the East Milton station noticed the problem on the left side of the engine bays where Engine 4 is typically parked. 

With work on the new headquarters fire house behind Milton Town Hall well under way, the FSBC is looking ahead to how and when to proceed with the work on the town’s other two fire stations, the report said.