The City of Meridian recently broke ground on Fire Station 8, which will be located at 4232 N. Owyhee Storm Ave. in Northwest Meridian.

The facility will house both the police precinct and fire station, as it’s being built in tandem with the city’s first police precinct.

“The fire station will be 11,562 square feet and feature three double-deep, drive-through apparatus bays with quick access gear and decontamination rooms,” a press release says. “There are six individual sleeping rooms, a kitchen and dining area, and a day room. The overall building is organized to keep operation of the apparatus bay separate from the living quarters, a critical feature as it reduces hazardous exhaust exposure to the firefighters who live there.”

Design of the project was completed by Rice Fergus Miller with construction management services provided by ESI, the release says. See video of the event above.

The Citizens Coalition for Change says it is prepared to go to court to stop Harare local government minister July Moyo from forcing authorities to buy fire apparatus from Belarus at an inflated price, reports bulawayo24.com.

FA reported Tuesday that Moyo entered into an agreement to buy about 70 engines for $32 million using local authorities’ devolution funds, which caused uproar as councils were not consulted and they’re overpriced by about $270,000 apiece.

Earlier: Uproar as Harare (Zimbabwe) Inks $32M, 70-Engine Deal

The engines were set to be purchased from a company owned by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s friend Alyaksandr Zingman, which, of course, added to the uproar.

CustomFIRE—Lower St. Croix Valley Fire Department, Lakeland, MN, pumper; Spartan Gladiator cab and chassis; Cummins L9 450-hp engine; Waterous CMUC20 1,500-gpm pump; UPF Poly 750-gallon water tank; 30-gallon foam cell; FoamPro 2001 single-agent foam system; Will-Burt Night Scan light tower; Harrison 6-kW generator; hydraulic drop-down ladder rack. Dealer: Wayde Kirvida, CustomFIRE, Osceola, WI.

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Lorain firefighters are helping to make Garfield Park next to Station 4 a little more like Station 4, reports news5cleveland.com.

Shortly after the facility was built in 2019, city officials approved grant money to add to the park, which had just a swing set, according to the report.

Soon the park will boast a fire truck, a fire pole, and an interactive fire control board.

Next year will see the park get phase 2 of the project, which will include a parking lot, picnic tables, and grills, the report says.