Erica Smith
The Decatur Daily, Ala.
(TNS)

Mar. 8—ATHENS — Mayor Ronnie Marks’ vision for the city includes two new fire stations and other projects to handle Athens’ rapid population growth, but his outline of plans for Sunrise Park resonated with several people attending his State of the City speech Tuesday.

Marks also discussed improving the Vine Street area.

Jennifer White, 70, of Athens, said after Marks’ speech that she can’t wait for Sunrise Park to be operational, especially the dog park that will be within it.

“I want to see all of it, but I met with the group that had ideas about the park, and the dog park was a big deal,” she said.

The city plans to construct the park in phases on a 32.67-acre property near Pryor Street and Sussex Drive that once was a chicken processing plant. Construction of the first phase will begin this spring.

Marks said phase one will be the children’s area, including a playground and a splash pad. He said there will be a parking lot where food trucks can set up. The first phase is slated to be completed in late spring or early summer 2024, Marks said.

“When we get phase one completed, get it started, then we’ll start the other part,” Marks said. “Maybe even toward the dog park, the green space, and just keep putting it together.”

John Wilson, 37, from unincorporated Limestone County, attended the State of the City program and said he was excited about Sunrise Park. He said he looks forward to taking his two young sons to the park.

Wilson said he was most excited about “the trails, walking, and the boys of course will love the playground and the splash pad. Right now, we have to go to Decatur to go to a splash pad; there’ll be one right here.”

The Athens-Limestone County Chamber of Commerce held the State of the City breakfast in Athens State University’s Carter Gymnasium on Tuesday morning. Marks discussed numerous projects for the city, which has seen its population grow from 21,897 in 2010 to an estimated 27,027 in 2021.

“With the growth that we have (comes) opportunities, but it also is a lot of challenges,” Marks said. “Public safety is our number one priority, that means we’re going to need, at least in the next few years, two new fire stations.”

Marks said one location the city is planning on for a new fire station would be in the Tanner Crossroads area at Huntsville Brownsferry Road and U.S. 31. Marks said he would like it to contain an ambulance and police bay. The other station will be near the Athens Sportsplex and is already in the works.

“We’ve already worked with an architect, we’ve got to redesign it, get what we want, build what we want, and find the land; (I’d) like it to be there close to the new high school,” Marks said. “I hope that we’ll have the architect plans back to the City Council in the next three to four months. And then you’re talking about a building, probably 12 to 14 months, so you’re talking about fall of 2024 (for completion).”

Marks said he doesn’t know what the fire stations will cost because the work has not been put out for bid. However, he estimated the first station might be between $3.5 million and $5 million.

White said she appreciates that city officials are planning.

“I like the fact that the city is looking forward,” she said. “We have City Council members, Limestone County commissioners and they’re always looking forward.”

Dolph Bradford, 56, Athens Street Department director, attended the program and said he is doing a lot of the work at Sunrise Park.

“The park will be nice,” he said. “The added businesses and retail, restau

The city of Bristol, already building a new fire station, says it needs $1.6 million for a new truck and to hire more firefighters, WFSB.com reported.

A fire official said the population keeps growing but the size of the fire department stayed the same, making it hard for them to tackle multiple problems at once, the report said.

The finance board is trying to figure out how to get that money, the report said.

By Bill Adams

According to its website, all 382 pages of the newly crafted 2024 National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 1900: Standard for Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Vehicles, Automotive Fire Apparatus, Wildland Fire Apparatus, and Automotive Ambulances, 2024 Edition is available for $147.00 USD.

Burned Bottoms

What burns my bottom more than a fire in three-foot-high scrub brush is what I call “disingenuous” headlines when the media describes accidents involving fire apparatus. Unfortunately, there are some incidents that do involve fire apparatus operator error. And, it is tragic when death and injury is involved. However, it appears headlines are mostly written to infer all accidents and crashes are the fault of the fire truck. That’s not right – it’s downright misleading.

There’s a news media saying If it bleeds, it reads. The following is paraphrased from online research about the saying: “It is a mantra US marketing and media live by knowing that feeding people dull facts is not an effective tactic for capturing viewers’ attention.” It sucks. 

Here’s one headline: “Fire Truck Crashes During Emergency Call; Driver Cited with Failure to Yield.” Well, that’s appears to be a slap in the face to the fire department. The local citizenry may forever have disdain for the department if they failed to read the third paragraph where it said the driver of the vehicle that crashed into the fire truck was the one cited.

Here’s another: “The city’s newest million-dollar fire truck totaled in expressway crash.” Buried in the story was the fact the fire truck was appropriately parked when blocking traffic at another accident scene.” As long as I’m on a scorched bottom rampage, it amazes me why so many LDH equipped apparatus have multiple gated 2½-inch auxiliary suction inlets especially when they have two gated LDH inlets.  Granted they “might” be necessary if there’s a remote chance non-LDH equipped apparatus may be supplying the apparatus with multiple 2½-inch or 3-inch supply lines. But if everyone around you uses LDH, buy an LDH by a 2½-inch female adaptor for each of your gated LDH inlets – if you don’t already carry them! The adaptor is a lot cheaper than the entire 2½-inch gated inlet.

Cummins

Jim Lyons of J. Lyons Fire Consultants in Connecticut sent a link to a Linkedin – or Linkup or something like that – story about Cummins motors. Considering Cummins is a major player in the fire truck world, I thought I’d pass it on: 

“Another change for the North American Fire Service, when we least need it. For those of you who might not yet know, there are some major changes on the horizon from the largest engine manufacturer, Cummins. The current fire apparatus model lineup will change significantly. The popular legacy engines, the medium duty L-9 engine with 860 -1250 lb. Ft torque and the even more popular heavy-duty X-12 engine with 1250 – 1700 lb. Ft torque are going away! On 2/13/23 Cummins announced both engines would be replaced by the next engine in the fuel-agnostic series, the X-10. It will comply with 2027 US EPA regulations and is to be released in 2026, a full year early. Based on the information available, the expected medium-duty ratings of the X10 range from 320 to 380 hp with torque ratings of 1000 to 1250 lb-ft at 2100 rpm. For heavy-duty applications, the expected ratings are from 350 to 450 hp, with torque from 1350 to 1650 lb-ft at 1800 rpm. The new engine can be married to the Allison EVS series transmission, the model

Pasco County (FL) Government posted the following on its Facebook page:

“Another fire station is in the works in #PascoCounty! Commissioners & county leaders break ground on Station #3 – which will serve the State Road 52/Little Road area. The state-of-the-art station includes special zones to keep our first responders safe by eliminating harmful chemicals. Learn more about how Pasco Fire Rescue serves you: mypas.co/FireRescue.”