A community effort is underway in western Massachusetts to help the Hadley Fire Department grow its emergency response unit, WesternMassNews.com reported Wednesday.

The first step is getting a better ambulance, which it now has, thanks to community support, the report said.

A fire official said that whenever it received multiple calls at the same time, where the primary ambulance is out taking care of a call, the department then had to ask for mutual aid from Northampton, Amherst, South Hadley and South Deerfield.

But now Hadley has its own backup thanks to the Northampton Fire Department, which sold the truck to Hadley for about $20,000, according to the report. The backup truck is expected to be in action within the next couple of months, the report said.

York (NE) has started the process toward building a new fire station, YorkNewsTimes.com reported Wednesday.

As part of the budget, city officials agreed to take $500,000 from the city’s reserves as the start of a “savings account” toward this large project, the report said.

City officials will start touring fire departments in other communities similar to York, where they too have a paid staff as well as volunteers. Some communities have built new stations in the past few years and those will be reviewed as a starting point when planning for the future, according to the report.

The current station was built in 1969. In April of 1968, a bond issue passed and a new fire/police complex was built for $188,000 at the corner of Eighth Street and Grant Avenue, the report said.

Lorain City Council opened up its checkbook and will fund nearly $1 million in improvements for its fire department, MorningJournal.com reported Wednesday.

The council voted unanimously at its September 6 meeting to fund a $292,400 roof repair at the Central Fire Station, located at Broadway and West 14th Street, and pay for a $633,000 Sutphen pumper truck, the report said.

The council voted 10-0 to approve both ordinances, according to the report.

A fire official conceded that the new truck is expensive, but is needed because the fire department is down two trucks and the pumper being replaced is 24 years old, the report said.

Lorain City Council opened up its checkbook and will fund nearly $1 million in improvements for its fire department, MorningJournal.com reported Wednesday.

The council voted unanimously at its September 6 meeting to fund a $292,400 roof repair at the Central Fire Station, located at Broadway and West 14th Street, and pay for a $633,000 Sutphen pumper truck, the report said.

The council voted 10-0 to approve both ordinances, according to the report.

A fire official conceded that the new truck is expensive, but is needed because the fire department is down two trucks and the pumper being replaced is 24 years old, the report said.