The Billings City Council has approved plans for a new fire station in the Heights, one that will house the city’s first mobile response team focused on medical calls, KTVQ.com reported.

The council approved pursuing the purchase of a new building on Monday night. The Billings Fire Department has already set aside $2 million in its 2023 budget for the purchase, the report said.

Billings’ newest fire station may look like many others at first glance, but the double bay garage houses much more than traditional fire trucks, according to the report.

Since this was once a fire station, remodeling the building will save the city money. The total project is expected to cost just over $1 million, compared to it an estimated $4 million to $7 million for a brand new station, the report said.

One mobile response team is expected to be up and running at the new station by December 1, the report said.

Fire Station 8 will be the base for the city’s first mobile medical response team. Medical calls in Billings have recently skyrocketed, and firefighters say a traditional fire truck is often not necessary, according to the report.

Chester Township Council voted 3-0 to buy its next fire truck during its September 20 meeting, NewJerseyHills.com reported.

The truck would eventually replace a fire engine that is in its 40th year of service but had been refurbished in 1997, the report said. The new vehicle would not be purchased until 2025 but the council thought it would be prudent to set up financing, so that they could move on it when necessary. The bond ordinance is being introduced to set up that purchase order, according to the report.

The township with Chester Borough recently bought a Tower 9 Hook and Ladder truck for $1.4 million. The cost of the new truck would be $1,049,522, the report said.

The Loves Park Fire Department has moved into its newest facility, which fire officials say will reduce response times to its busiest areas and eventually lower insurance costs for homeowners and businesses, RockRiverCurrent.com reported.

The city showed off its new Station 1 during an open house Tuesday at the remodeled former body shop at 5180 Rock Valley Parkway. It started using the facility about three weeks ago, the report said.

The new station replaces the city’s original station at 400 Grand Avenue, which was built in 1947 and originally home to City Hall. It will now be used as storage for the city’s Public Works Department, the report said.

The former station no longer made sense for today’s fire equipment, a fire official said. For example, its doors were 10-foot tall, which doesn’t accommodate the 12-foot tall ladder trucks the department now uses, the report said.

For more than 30 years, Highland Beach residents have depended on Delray Beach Fire Rescue’s services, PalmBeachPost.com reported. But no longer.

On September 13, the Palm Beach County Commission voted unanimously to allow Highland Beach to establish its own fire-rescue department, the report said. It will mark the first time in three decades that a city within the county has created a fire-rescue agency.

The move will save taxpayers at least $2 million per year, according to a report conducted by Matrix Consulting in May.

As it works right now, there is one fire station in Highland Beach, but it is staffed by Delray Beach firefighters, the report said. The report found that more than 2,000 trips per year are made to Delray Beach from trucks stationed in Highland Beach.

Highland Beach Fire Rescue is expected to debut in May 2024, the report said. It will have two full medical transports, two fire ladder trucks and a fire chief car. 

The Palm Beach County Commission’s vote comes after a referendum last fall in which Highland Beach residents overwhelmingly approved the $10 million initiative for a new fire department, the report said. The plan had a 92% approval rate.

The department will serve the town’s roughly 4,000 residents, according to the report.