David Wilson
Pasadena Star-News, Calif.
(TNS)

The Pasadena Fire Department Monday, Sept. 29, presented to the City Council a $227 million long-term development plan that would include rebuilding a fire station and building a new one and relocating fire department headquarters over the next 10 years and beyond.

Chief Chad Augustin first previewed the plan to City Council back in June during department budget presentations, but Monday’s presentation included more details about the plan, timelines and projected costs. Augustin separated his proposed changes into short, medium and long-term categories.

• 2026-27: Add a second battalion chief
• 2028-2030: Add a ninth fire engine, a seventh rescue ambulance and tear down and rebuild Station 33
• 2031-2035: Add a third ladder truck and an eighth rescue ambulance, tear down and rebuild Station 37 and construct a ninth fire station

“The goal is to ensure we are a more prepared Pasadena for many years to come. In order to get to a good starting point we have attempted to cost the first 10 years of this plan,” Augustin said. “That does not mean that the funding and that this long-term plan should end at the 10-year mark. Rather, we should constantly be looking for new and innovative ways to ensure that Pasadena is as prepared as possible for the next disaster.”

In addition, the plan calls for supporting weed abatement and brush clearance programs as well as development of a new training center and exploration of relocating Fire Administration headquarters to the Rose Bowl.

Rebuilding Station 33 is estimated to cost $30.5 million, Station 37 an estimated $34 million and the new fire station projected to be $37.8 million.

According to the fire department, it is considering the north side of the city, the southern part of the city or near the Rose Bowl as potential locations for the new fire station due to incident call volume and areas where future growth is expected.

“Preparedness cannot have an end date,” Augustin said. “I recommend that this plan be supported with ongoing funding, paired with regular updates to measure progress and incorporate emerging technology.”

Augustin said increased staffing will be needed as call volumes have increased by 33% since 2012 but that the increase cannot happen without expansions to aging fire stations. He said looking back at recent history suggests that another weather event similar to January or before that the 2011 wind event is likely to occur sometime in the next 10 years.

“I wouldn’t be honest with you if I didn’t say the risks weren’t there and ever increasing,” Augustin said.

Councilmember Steve Madison suggested looking at funds collected from Measures I and J as potential options to help pay for aspects of the long-term plan.

The plan will now be reviewed by City Council committees before coming back to the full council for action.

© 2025 Pasadena Star-News, Calif.. Visit www.pasadenastarnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The post New Station, Engines Included in $227M 10-Year FD Plan appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

T-Mobile and 3AM Innovations have joined forces to bring mission-critical decision support tools to first responders on the 5G network and T-Priority: a first-of-its-kind solution designed to keep first responders connected in the 5G era of public safety.

This collaboration brings together T-Mobile’s T-Priority solution for first responders and 3AM’s FLORIAN platform, a real-time responder tracking and incident command solution. Built to perform in any environment, FLORIAN helps keep first responders safe, visible, and connected at all times. “First responders operate in some of the most challenging, high-risk environments imaginable. Often without adequate equipment. 3AM Innovations exists to change that, to deliver the technology they deserve. Technology as fast and as reliable as they are,” says Ryan Litt, CEO and Co-founder, 3AM Innovations. “By joining forces with T-Mobile, we’re establishing a new benchmark for public safety technology. Putting comprehensive situational intelligence directly into the hands of those who need it most, when they need it most.”

Across the United States, more than half a million square miles remain “dead zones,” places where traditional coverage simply can’t reach. For the teams who put themselves in harm’s way to protect others, these gaps are more than an inconvenience. Delays in communication can mean the difference between life and death. Lost visibility of personnel can leave commanders guessing in moments when certainty is critical. And, compromised connectivity can strip responders of the tools they need most: awareness, coordination, and speed.

At its core, FLORIAN has always been about knowing where your people are. Real-time visibility translates into better decision making, stronger coordination, and safer outcomes. But until now, these capabilities have been tied to the reach of terrestrial networks. By extending coverage into the sky, satellite connectivity allows FLORIAN to overcome such limitations. With more than 650 satellites orbiting overhead, even the most remote, off-grid, and disaster-stricken locations are brought into the light. When visibility is restored, action can be immediate.

T-Mobile recently expanded T-Satellite with Starlink, bringing satellite data connectivity for popular apps to dozens more smartphones. Essential tools like app-based voice and video chat, mapping, weather and social media sharing, among others, are now part of the T-Satellite experience. T-Mobile is extending the power of its T-Satellite into business applications to deliver always-on connectivity across iOS and Android — automatically included with SuperMobile and T-Priority plans.

By bringing secure connectivity to environments where field teams have never before had access, T-Satellite is unlocking new business-first use cases and advancing mission-critical operations virtually everywhere. So, in the case of FLORIAN, personnel can connect even in the most remote or disaster-stricken areas.

The benefits are far-reaching. Wildland firefighters moving deep into canyons, linemen repairing storm-battered powerlines, or first responders stepping into wildfire zones, they can all now carry FLORIAN with the confidence that their connection won’t disappear when they need it most. For incident commanders, this means unbroken oversight of personnel locations, hazards, and environmental data. Even if a hurricane takes down towers or an earthquake severs infrastructure, direct-to-phone satellite connection ensures updates continue, messages still get through, and teams remain in touch.

While emergency response is the immediate focus, the implications extend far beyond. Connectivity is the backbone of safety across countless industries, from utilities and construction to oil and gas, maritime operations, and logistics. Wherever teams face risk in challenging environments, resilient communication is non-negotiable.

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A woman was struck and killed by an ambulance that was responding to an emergency call late Thursday night in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood, according to NBC 10.

Police said the crash happened just before midnight at the intersection of F Street and Allegheny Avenue.

The Philadelphia Police Department’s Crash Investigation Division is gathering video surveillance camera footage from cameras in the area to determine what caused the collision.

The post Woman Struck, Killed by PA Ambulance appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

The Baugo (IN) Fire Department is a combination fire department with 15.8 square miles as its primary response area plus an additional 175 square miles that it covers under automatic mutual aid agreements. The department has 13 paid full-time firefighters and 20 volunteer firefighters operating out of one station for fire, rescue, and advanced life support emergency medical services (EMS) responses.

Baugo is running a pumper-tanker, a brush truck, two ambulances, and two fire-rescue boats. It had a 2013 rescue-pumper and a 2005 midmount aerial platform with no pump or water tank that it wanted to replace. “We decided to replace the platform and the rescue-pumper with an aerial ladder quint that would reduce the size of our fleet, keeping in mind the rising costs of purchasing apparatus and maintaining fleet vehicles,” observes Evan Baker, Baugo Fire’s fleet manager.

Baker says that after consideration of all of the department’s options, Baugo decided to go to Pierce Manufacturing for a 107-foot Ascendant rear-mount aerial ladder quint that would replace the two vehicles, and continue to provide the rescue, fire suppression, EMS, and aerial capabilities of the two previous rigs.

Dave Polkow, apparatus salesman for MacQueen Emergency Group, says Baugo Fire is a new customer for MacQueen and Pierce Manufacturing. “They had an older Pierce midmount in their fleet which they had bought used,” Polkow notes, “so this is their first new ladder truck purchase, and they were planning on running the quint as a first-due vehicle.” He says the rig is on a single rear axle and features an aluminum body; TAK-4 independent front suspension; a cab designed to carry four firefighters, three of them in Pierce PSV self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) seats; and two EMS cabinets and two personal protective equipment storage cabinets.

Polkow points out that the quint has a 450-horsepower (hp) Cummins L9 engine, an Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission, and has a wheelbase of 242 inches, an overall length of 39 feet 7½-inches, and an overall height of 11 feet 11 inches.

The Ascendant has a 1,500-gallon-per-minute (gpm) PUC pump, a