While responding to a call March 1, Command 2 was involved in a personal injury collision on Three Notch Road at New Market Turner Road, Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department said in a news release.

Squad 2 was just behind Command 2 when this occurred and notified the communications center of the incident at 12:15 p.m. Squad 2 remained with this incident, and Squad 1002 was alerted for the initial incident. Engine 23 also responded on the call.

One driver was transported to a local hospital by ambulance, and the other driver self transported to be checked after the incident.

Maryland State Police is investigating the incident.

The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (OSFM) announced March 3 the recipients of the 2023 Small Equipment Grant Program, according to a news release. A total of $1.5 million was awarded to 64 fire departments/districts and EMS providers across the state. The program was established to provide grants of up to $26,000 each for the purchase of small firefighting and ambulance equipment.

This program is an innovative approach to a problem that has long caused difficulties for fire departments and not-for profit ambulance services in Illinois, particularly those that have hardships in generating the necessary revenue for small equipment. The purpose is to allow eligible applicants the opportunity to purchase small equipment that they may otherwise not be able to purchase. The OSFM received 296 applications, requesting around $4.5 million in funding for this grant period.

“The OSFM continues to remain committed to our mission of helping departments and districts purchase essential firefighting or EMS equipment that will help not only their members to stay safe, but continue to provide lifesaving services to their communities,” said Acting Illinois State Fire Marshal Dale Simpson. “Budgets remain tight, and the cost of firefighting equipment continues to rise, that is why programs such as our Small Equipment Grant are a great resource, especially for our smaller and rural volunteer fire departments across the state.”

“As we all know, volunteer fire departments all around the state are struggling to maintain a safe work environment due to the lack of funding. The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Small Equipment Grant Program has provided us the opportunity to purchase a thermal imagining camera we desperately need that will help keep our firefighters safe,” said Colona Fire Chief John Swan.

“The Harristown Fire Protection District is thankful to receive the OSFM Small Equipment Grant. With this grant, the Harristown Fire Protection District will be purchasing 8 sets of turnout gear (Coats & Pants) which will be free of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

In addition, the district will be purchasing 8 particulate blocking hoods which cover the head, ears & throat to protect our firefighters from harmful fireground carcinogens. Three firefighter helmets will also be purchased to replace helmets that have passed the 10-year life. With the rising costs of PPE, this grant will reduce the strain on the district’s budget allowing replacement of other items needed to continue daily operations,” said Harristown Fire Protection District Chief Steven Gambrill.

“The Salem Fire Protection District covers approximately 124 square miles. That includes U.S. Highway 50, two state routes, and thirteen- and one-half miles of Interstate 57 that have significant personal and commercial traffic. This results in our department responding to numerous motor vehicle accidents with occupant entrapment. Receiving this small equipment grant will provide us with the funding needed to purchase rescue tools that will enable us to perform life-saving motor vehicle extri

The Eagle River Fire Protection District this spring is asking voters for financial help, vaildaily.com reported.

The district at the May 2 election will ask voters for a 2 mill property tax increase, the report said. The increase would raise roughly $2 million per year. If approved, the money will be used exclusively for equipment and maintenance, along with facility maintenance. The increase would be just less than $12 for every $1 million in assessed value.

A fire official said the equipment list includes both replacement and new gear, according to the report.

The replacement items include a new ladder truck and self-contained breathing apparatus for firefighters. New gear would include wildland firefighting equipment including both large and smaller wildland trucks, the report said.

The Wichita West (TX) Volunteer Fire Department made the following announcement Monday on Facebook:

NEW STATION COMING SOON (it’s a long read, but promise it’s worth it) :

It’s no secret we’ve been growing, both in membership and our fleet. In the last year and a half, we’ve added 3 apparatuses which were all donated to us, and a new frontline engine on the way. These apparatuses will all need to fit in an area where we currently only have room for 2.

We are extremely fortunate enough to have maintained steady membership growth, and have outgrown our current training room. We’d also like to host outside departments on training nights, in order to have a more cohesive flow on scenes.

With the highway expansion still looming, and making the apron in front of the station unsafe for our firefighters to pull the trucks out on when responding to emergencies, making room in the bays for training, or when we do in house maintenance, clearly a change was needed.

A couple donors who wish to remain anonymous, approached us with an amazing opportunity. Approximately 6 acres of land and $600,000 was offered to us to start construction on a new station at 7952 Seymour Hwy, just west of the ServiceMaster location.

While this will certainly get us a great start on a new station, anything over the $600,000 will need to be paid for by the department. At this time, our goal is to raise an additional $150,000. We will be asking the community to assist us in reaching that goal.

Several remodeling options to our current station were looked at, each hitting several roadblocks and requiring additional work to land not owned by the fire department. This approach, we will be able to have room to grow, and have the option to expand the station far into the future should it be needed. Details of the building will be released in future posts as well.

This is a very exciting time for us and the community! We hope you’ll support us as you always have, to help us reach our goal and build this asset to the community.