Fuad Shalhout
mlive.com
(TNS)

DAVISON, MI – The Davison-Richfield Fire Authority is exploring the possibility of building a new headquarters fire station to replace its decades-old downtown facility.

The idea was recently discussed by the Davison-Richfield Fire Authority Board, where representatives heard a preliminary presentation from AMAG, an architectural firm based in Flint, outlining a potential 6-acre site for development.

No final decision has been made, and Davison-Richfield Fire Chief Brian Flewelling said the project remains in the early stages.

The fire department currently serves Davison Township, Richfield Township, as well as the city of Davison.

Its main facility – Station 1, located at 403 S. Main Street – is approximately 70 years old and faces growing limitations.

The station’s age and design have restricted the size of vehicles the department can purchase, and it lacks space to support expanded staffing or operations.

“We’ve outgrown it many years ago,” said Flewelling, who also serves as a county commissioner. “We’re finally getting to the point where we have to make some changes and build potentially a new headquarters station to better serve the community.”

Flewelling said the station would ideally be near the existing site.

He said he hopes within three to six months, the department will have some more clarity on a plan and how to fund it.

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WEIS FIRE— Girdletree (MD) Volunteer Fire Department Quick Attack unit. Ford F-550 4×4 crew cab and chassis; 7.3L V-8 430-hp gas engine; Hale HPX275-B35 250-gpm @ 25-psi pump; UPF Poly DEF 2C 400-gallon water tank; rear-mount pump controls; two ground sweep nozzles; TFT Tornado monitor; extruded aluminum body. Dealer: Mike Weis, Weis Fire & Safety Equipment, Salina, KS.

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APPARATUS IDEAS

BY BOB VACCARO

The Riverhead (NY) Volunteer Fire Department (RFD) was organized in 1836 to provide fire protection for the approximately 48 square miles that make up the Riverhead Fire District, the largest on Long Island.

The department is now 210 members strong, with six companies comprising 35 members each. It stretches over the township of Riverhead and into parts of both Southampton and Brookhaven Townships as well. The RFD responds to an ever-growing number of alarms, averaging around 1,400 emergency calls a year. The department operates from four strategically located stations to provide coverage for the large area.

Captain Justin Berry, who was on the apparatus committee along with Former Chief Joe Hartman, began the process to replace a 1997 tanker that was 27 years old and that had begun to show its age. “Our district mechanic stated that the vehicle was starting to age out on parts as well,” says Berry. “The older tanker only had a 500-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pump and couldn’t store a FOL-DA-TANK with limited compartment space. This time around, we wanted a self-contained unit. We wanted an apparatus that could be used not only as a tanker but as a pumper if needed. Also, we were interested in a larger tank and bigger pump and a little more compartment space.”

Fouts Fire Tanker-Pumper

• Kenworth T-880 chassis, Fouts Fire body
• Paccar MX13 565-hp engine
• Allison 4000EVS transmission
• Hale Qmax 1,500-gpm pump
• 4,000-gallon polypropylene tank
• Wetside design
• Four low-side compartments equipped with AMDOR roll-up doors
• Manually activated Newton stainless steel swivel dump valve
• Two rear body direct tank fills
• Storage for two 10-foot lengths of lightweight hard suction
• Storage for one 4,000-gallon aluminum FOL-DA-TANK portable tank
• Whelen LED warning and scene light package

The design of the new tanker-pumper would call for carrying two 200-foot lengths of 1¾-inch attack lines and 600 feet of 3-inch hose for supply line. “Our district has several trailer parks with no hydrants, so this type of unit would be to our advantage, not only to operate independently but to supply our other engines as well,” says Berry.

The department looked at several manufacturers but wanted a quicker delivery. It worked with Bulldog Fire Apparatus in Connecticut, which represents Fouts Fire. “They had a similar truck that we looked at and liked the quality of the build,” Berry says. “It turned out that the factory down in Georgia had a tanker-pumper that was already built for another department in Louisiana that it decided not to purchase. They sent us some photos and a video, and it had everything we wanted on the vehicle. We decided to go with this unit.” Although the apparatus purchasing committee wasn’t able to visit the factory, it went to Connecticut to do a final inspection with the dealer. “What also helped us was that we went with the HGAC procurement process, so it speeded up the purchase and delivery,” Berry adds.

1 The Riverhead (NY) Volunteer Fire Department Fouts Fire tanker-pumper built on a Kenworth T-880 Chassis with body by Fouts Fire. (Photos by author.)

2 The rear swivel dump

The Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) has made the final deliveries of new fire engines under its Engine Program, marking a major milestone in the agency’s commitment to modernize equipment and enhancing wildfire response capabilities within the Oregon structural fire service.

The OSFM Engine Program purchased 76 new apparatus, including 26 type 3 engines, 20 type 6 engines, and 30 water tenders.

Funding for the Engine Program was made possible through Senate Bill 762, Oregon’s wildfire omnibus bill in 2021. By July 2022, the Oregon Department of State Fire Marshal began accepting applications, in January 2023 the scoring committee reviewed the applications, and communities were informed if they were awarded a new fire truck in April 2023. The first deliveries occurred in January 2024.

The Rosenbauer America Type 3 pumper carries 500 gallons of water and 20 gallons of foam concentrate. The body is an Extreme Duty Body made from 12-gauge galvanneal steel, has 110 cubic feet of compartment space, and a 1,000-gpm pump.

The Rosenbauer America water tender is a side-mount “Maverick Aluminum Body” configuration with 2,000-gallon water tank, 2,100-gallon folding tank, and a 750-gpm pump. Both the Type 3 pumpers and water tenders were built at Rosenbauer’s Lyons, South Dakota, operations facility.

• OR State Fire Marshal Takes Delivery of 30 Rosenbauer Tenders and 13 Wildland Engines
• OR State Fire Marshal Places Rosenbauer Apparatus Around the State

The delivery of the last type 3 engines on June 16, 2025, completes the agency’s distribution of 76 new firefighting vehicles to local fire agencies. The program is part of Response Ready Oregon.

“This is a landmark achievement for our agency, t