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The purpose of the Fire Mechanics Section is to promote standardization of fire apparatus and equipment preventative maintenance, improve safety standards and practices, promote workshops, conferences, and seminars related to the purposes of this Section, and to promote cost savings through standardization of building and equipment purchasing and maintenance.

RECENT FIRE MECHANIC NEWS

Posted: Aug 5, 2025

Portland (OR) Bids Farewell to Nearly 100-Year-Old David Campbell Fire Boat

A nearly century-old fire boat took its final trip along the Willamette River, marking the end of a historic era for Portland Fire and Rescue. The David Campbell took her final voyage Monday, Aug. 4, 2025, to dry dock to be renovated so it can be placed in the Columbia River Maritime Museum.

The fire boat was named after one of Portland’s most revered fire chiefs, who died in the line of duty in 1911, kgw.com reported.

Commissioned in 1927, the David Campbell had a long career, witnessing the riverfront evolve from wooden docks and steamships to modern steel bridges and high-rises. At its peak, the vessel could pump 12,000 gallons of water per minute and was vital in some of the largest maritime fire responses, including a five-alarm fire at the Red Lion Hotel on the Columbia River nearly a decade ago, KGW reported.

After being officially retired in 2021, the fire boat is now headed to drydock storage and will be transported to the museum in the spring of 2026, where it will be placed on public display, according to the report.

The David Campbell Fire Boat. (Source: Portland Fire and Rescue)
The David Campbell Fire Boat. (Source: Portland Fire and Rescue)

The post Portland (OR) Bids Farewell to Nearly 100-Year-Old David Campbell Fire Boat appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

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Posted: Aug 5, 2025

Facilities for Female FFs, Police Part of Bond Proposals in MI

Max Bryan
The Detroit News
(TNS)

Voters in two Metro Detroit suburbs will head to the polls Tuesday to decide on multimillion-dollar bond proposals to modernize their police and fire departments and accommodate something neither city initially planned to have when their facilities were built decades ago: women.

Novi is seeking voter approval of a $120 million bond to build a new public safety headquarters, two new fire stations and modernize another station. And Livonia is seeking approval of a $150 million bond to finance a new police station, library, public green space and renovations to the western Wayne County suburb’s five fire stations.

Novi officials said when their current facilities were built in the late 1970s and early 1980s, they weren’t designed to be co-ed. The city now has 15 female officers, who make up more than 20% of its staff of 73. And it has five women in the fire department, which has 28 full-time and 70 part-time workers.

Livonia’s fire department has five female firefighters out of 82, while its police department has 20 female officers on its force of 150, or 13%.

These numbers are colliding with a lack of female locker rooms, showers, sleeping quarters and changing areas at the cities’ fire departments. Novi police have enough lockers for their female officers, but they’re out of space, said Erick Zinser, Novi’s public safety director.

“No one, I think, would have guessed that we would have (more than 20%) of our sworn staff of police officers be women,” said Novi Communications Director Sheryl Walsh-Molloy.

To pay for the new facilities, Livonia would repay the bond debt over 25 years through a 1.43-mill property tax to help finance renovations for the suburb’s five fire stations, a new police station, public green space and a library. If approved, the millage would cost a homeowner in the city of 92,100 residents $1.43 per $1,000 of their property’s taxable value.

Novi’s proposed $120 million bond would be financed and repaid through a 1-mill property tax increase over 25 years to build a new public safety headquarters and two new fire stations and renovate a fourth station.

Part of the money from these bonds would go toward updating locker rooms, showers and sleeping quarters to accommodate a workforce that looks different than the one envisioned when the current police and fire stations were originally built.

Advocates said public safety facilities need to accommodate women from the get-go, as opposed to being retrofitted.

“Regardless of what’s under your uniform, if you’re a good person and you can get the job done, you should be allowed, as part of your written contract with your employer, to have a place where you can use the restroom,” said Rachael Stabell, vice president of Women In Fire and retired lieutenant paramedic out of Colorado Springs.

Even some opponents of the proposed bond increase want women to have adequate facilities. Jim Biga, a leader of the group “Livonia Vote NO on $150M Bond/Millage Proposal,” argued the Livonia police and fire departments were “held hostage” in the millage proposal to earn public support.

Biga also contended the existing police station isn’t in as bad a condition as city leaders make it out to be. He said the city could add to the current station instead of building a new one.

But that in no way affects his support for women to have adequate facilities, he said.

“They should have their own privacy. They shouldn’t have to share a

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Posted: Aug 5, 2025

North Myrtle Beach Adds New Truck to Fleet 

North Myrtle Beach (SC) Fire Rescue held a ceremony for its new fire apparatus at Station 2 on July 16. According to an msn.com article, the new vehicle will replace a 24-year-old-truck and cost an estimated $850,000.  

Manufactured by Pierce, the apparatus includes a Cummins L9 450-hp engine, a 500-gallon water tank, a Hale 1,500-gpm midship pump, a Husky 3 foam system, Pierce’s Command Zone electrical system, and TAK-4 Independent Front Suspension.  

The department designed the truck from scratch, including new elements that differ from other trucks at the station. Some of these elements include a low hosebed, longer hoselines, and a system that allows the lights to synch with other engines.  

This engine will be the first of five to arrive at North Myrtle Beach fire stations in the next two and a half years. The future vehicles will be identical to this engine, which is now in service.  

For more information, visit https://www.piercemfg.com/customers/new-deliveries/north-myrtle-beach-fire-rescue-pumper-39078

Specifications

ChassisEnforcer™
BodyPumper
Actual Overall Height10′ 0″
EngineCummins L9
Horsepower450 hp
Front SuspensionTAK-4® Independent Front Suspension
Rear SuspensionSpring
Electrical SystemCommand Zone™
Foam SystemHusky™ 3
PumpHale Midship
Pump GPM1500 gpm
TankFoam
Water
Tank Size500 gallons

The post North Myrtle Beach Adds New Truck to Fleet  appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

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Posted: Aug 5, 2025

North Myrtle Beach Adds New Pumper to Fleet 

North Myrtle Beach (SC) Fire Rescue held a ceremony for its new fire apparatus at Station 2 on July 16. According to an msn.com article, the new vehicle will replace a 24-year-old-truck and cost an estimated $850,000.  

Manufactured by Pierce, the apparatus includes a Cummins L9 450-hp engine, a 500-gallon water tank, a Hale 1,500-gpm midship pump, a Husky 3 foam system, Pierce’s Command Zone electrical system, and TAK-4 Independent Front Suspension.  

The department designed the truck from scratch, including new elements that differ from other trucks at the station. Some of these elements include a low hosebed, longer hoselines, and a system that allows the lights to synch with other engines.  

This engine will be the first of five to arrive at North Myrtle Beach fire stations in the next two and a half years. The future vehicles will be identical to this engine, which is now in service.  

For more information, visit https://www.piercemfg.com/customers/new-deliveries/north-myrtle-beach-fire-rescue-pumper-39078

Specifications

ChassisEnforcer™
BodyPumper
Actual Overall Height10′ 0″
EngineCummins L9
Horsepower450 hp
Front SuspensionTAK-4® Independent Front Suspension
Rear SuspensionSpring
Electrical SystemCommand Zone™
Foam SystemHusky™ 3
PumpHale Midship
Pump GPM1500 gpm
TankFoam
Water
Tank Size500 gallons

The post North Myrtle Beach Adds New Pumper to Fleet  appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

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Fire Mechanics Section Board

Chair

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Chair

Elliot Courage
North Whatcom Fire & Rescue
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Vice Chair

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Vice Chair

Mike Smith 
Pierce County Fire District #5
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Secretary

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Secretary

Greg Bach
South Snohomish County Fire & Rescue
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Director #1

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #1

Doug Jones
South Kitsap Fire & Rescue
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Director #2

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #2

Paul Spencer 
Fire Fleet Maintenance LLC
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Director #3

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #3

Jim Morris
Mountain View Fire Department
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Director #4

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #4

Arnie Kuchta

Clark County Fire District 6

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Director #6

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #6

Brett Annear
Kitsap County Fire District 18
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Director #5

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #5

Jay Jacks
Camano Island Fire & Rescue
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Legislative Representative

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Legislative Representative

TBD
TBD
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Immediate Past Chair

Posted: Oct 20, 2015

Immediate Past Chair

Brian Fortner
Graham Fire & Rescue

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