Editor’s Opinion | Chris Mc Loone

It was August 2010 when Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment ownership changed. A new owner brought a new vision, a somewhat different structure, and other new ideas.

With the brand came a number of columnists and writers, some of whom stayed and some who opted to go in different directions. One of the contributors who agreed to stay was Ron Heal, who had joined the brand’s cadre of contributors in 2007—and boy, did we luck out!

Ron compiles the “Apparatus Showcase” and “Recent Apparatus Orders” sections of the magazine each month. Back when Ron started, the Apparatus Showcase department was called “Now in Service” and featured pictures and descriptions of 24 newly delivered rigs from all over the country and from various manufacturers. Since 2007, Ron has painstakingly chosen which fire apparatus to feature, managed photographers who contribute regularly to the department, and kept track of a rapidly changing fire apparatus manufacturing landscape. Ron has often told me how hard it is to narrow down the deliveries to the 22 we now feature every month and how many submissions unfortunately end up on the “cutting room floor.”

I recently thought about how apparatus designs and the market have changed since Ron started handling these departments for us. American LaFrance was still up and running, and the Commander chassis from Rosenbauer and Pierce’s Ascendant aerial didn’t exist yet. Electric fire apparatus? If anyone was thinking of them, we weren’t at a point where they could start production in 2007. When it came time to assemble an advisory board for the brand, Ron was a logical choice to join. Every month, he recorded specs on 22 to 24 new deliveries as well as more than 30 recent orders. Who better to keep us apprised of things like what the prevalent engine selections were (in 2007, there were still quite a few Detroits out there as well as Navistar engines in addition to Cummins), what departments were looking at in terms of light towers, or what size pumps were being spec’d most frequently, to name just a few things? Not only that, but Ron has been our resident authority on antique rigs. I’m still disappointed I never got to take a ride in Ron’s 1953 American LaFrance 700 Series open-cab pumper. Over the years as I’ve considered acquiring an antique rig, I still hear Ron’s sage advice that it’s easy to buy an antique—the hard part is storing it.

Ron was one of my first guests on “Talking Trucks & Equipment” back in the Blogtalk Radio days when fire service podcasts were still audio-only and for the most part still getting off the ground. I’m pretty sure we kept the discussion to antiques.

And, it wasn’t only these two columns that Ron has contributed to. Over the years, he has also been a frequent contributor to FireApparatus.com and in 2013 took on the project of writing the article on Pierce Manufacturing’s 100th anniversary.

For sure, Ron has covered quite a bit of ground in this industry since 2007, but with the September 2025 issue of Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment, Ron has decided to retire and enjoy some much-deserved time with his wife Lois. I can’t thank him enough for everything he has done over the years—especially since he easily could have decided to hang it up in 2010 when ownership changed, but he stayed onboard.

It’s not an easy process collecting, processing, editing, and compiling all the recent deliveries and recent orders every month. On top of that, keeping up with a changing market is always a challenge. It has often been said that in this market, the faces don’t change but the compan

Firefighters from the West Hartford (CT) Fire Department recently completed the final inspection on a new Pierce Ascendant 100-foot aerial ladder truck in Appleton Wisconsin.

“With the support of Mayor Cantor, our Town Council, Town Manager Ledwith and our Fire Chief, we worked diligently with the sales professionals at Firematic to design a fire apparatus to best meet the ever growing needs of our community,” the fire department said in a Facebook post.

This new apparatus will replace a 2009 Spartan/Crimson aerial which has reached the end of its serviceability. The department looks forward to completing the outfitting and training needed to place this apparatus in service.

“Look for it to be serving the community of West Hartford in the very near future!”

The post New 100-Foot Aerial Ladder Truck for CT Fire Department appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

Florida recently distribution $1.4 million in funds to state fire departments, floridapolitics.com reported.

The funding will help fire departments to bolster equipment needed to battle fires and provide protection for the personnel on those jobs. Some 15 departments across the state got a cut of the money.

Gov. Ron DeSantis approved the funds as part of the budget for the 2025-2026 spending plan, the report said. Additional funding is earmarked for the Firefighter Cancer Decontamination Equipment (FCDE) Grant Program and the Firefighter Assistance Grant Program. 

Some $1.04 million of the funding went to the Sanford Aircraft Rescue firefighting vehicle replacement.

The distribution of funds to individual local departments included:

• Satellite Beach Fire Department – $61,767.05.
• Inverness Fire Department – $52,143.50.
• Cape Canaveral Volunteer Fire Department – $42,525.00.
• Titusville Fire Department – $36,446.10.
• Haines City Fire Department – $35,625.00.
• Lake County Fire Rescue – $23,476.10.
• Mount Dora Fire Department – $28,206.00.
• New Smyrna Beach Fire Department – $23,421.50.
• Minneola Fire Rescue – $21,000.00.
• Auburndale Fire Department – $13,955.00.
• DeLand Fire Department – $10,507.39.
• Lake Mary Fire Department – $8,268.75.
• Cocoa Beach Fire Department – $7,297.50.
• Daytona Beach Fire Department – $5,874.00.
• Orlando Fire Department – $5,342.77.
• Lake County Fire Rescue – $23,476.10.

The post FL Distributes $1.4M to State FDs for Equipment appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.