Jordan Lawrence
The State
(TNS)

“We will take it from here.”

That message was affixed to the sign at the Circle Fire Department on Saturday afternoon, as the station paid tribute to volunteer firefighters George Chad Satcher, 53, Landon Cale Bodie, 18, who were killed the previous morning when a tree fell on their fire engine en route to a structure fire near Batesburg-Leesville.

Staff at the volunteer-manned fire station in rural Saluda County were present but off duty Saturday, as community members came by to offer support, hugging firefighters at the station through car windows. An engine from the neighboring Lexington County Fire Service was on hand, stepping in to take any calls that came through.

Neither the firefighters at the station nor anyone else will be speaking publicly about the tragedy for a few more days, Saluda County Fire Service Coordinator Mark Lybrand told reporters, emphasizing that they are still reeling from the loss. He said Satcher and Bodie were, to his knowledge, the first two firefighters in the history of the department to be lost in the line of duty.

“We would like to reach out to the community and State for the overwhelming support during this extremely challenging time,” the department posted to Facebook. “We lost two dedicated members who loved their communities and neighbors enough to make the ultimate sacrifice.”

The department said funeral arrangements for the fallen firefighters are pending.

The Saluda County community is grieving the loss of the firefighters as it, like many places in the state, struggles to recover from the impacts of Hurricane Helene, the storm that felled the tree that took the lives of Satcher and Bodie and two other county residents who died in their homes. Downtown Saluda sat dark and largely vacant Saturday afternoon, with awnings and signs sitting ripped down along the sidewalk on Main Street. As of 3:30 p.m., Dominion Energy reported that out of 6,128 customers in the county, 6,001 were without power.

Downed trees still partially blocked rugged Beulah Road, along which the tree fell on Satcher and Bodie’s fire truck. At the crash site, tree trunks and limbs had been cut and moved off to the side, while glass and small pieces of debris from the engine still sat in the roadway.

But folks around the community remained resilient. One woman sitting in the parking lot at the Hopps gas station next door to the Circle Fire Department proudly let people know that the nearby Dollar Tree was giving away free ice.

“Everybody’s pulling together,” she said from her truck.

Inside the gas station’s dark and powerless store, owner Gunvant Patel told customers he was open less to sell perishable items that would go bad than to be there for people looking for items to get by as the area recovers. He turned quickly thereafter to check out a man who left with his arms full of bottled water.

Patel said firefighters and EMS personnel from the stations that flank the gas station come in frequently and that he talks with many of them. He said Satcher would come by the store often to grab a coffee and chat.

“He buys diesel from me, and he buys some food,” Patel said. “He was a real nice guy.”

©2024 The State. Visit thestate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<

Erika Wurst
The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson
(TNS)

It’s a blessing to have 800 gallons of water per minute blasting through a firehose when a home is on fire.

It’s not so great when the same amount of fresh water is flowing through the hoses of firehouse trainees — with no flames in sight.

Those extra gallons get soaked into the ground, run down drains and are taken away from customers.

A water reclamation device, known as a Pump Pod, is allowing the Northwest Fire District in Marana to recycle water used in training exercises.

Trainees learning to use the hoses — improving their aim as they train to save property and lives — now have an improved impact on the environment, as well.

New device will help Northwest Fire District save water in training

Northwest Fire on Thursday showed off a new device that will help firefighter trainees save water during training exercises. A water reclamation device, known as a Pump Pod, is allowing the fire district in Marana to now recycle water.

The new device comes thanks to a grant provided by the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona (WIFA).

The Pump Pod DRAFTS (Direct Recirculating Apparatus Firefighting Training Sustainability) lifespan is about 35 years, said Chief Brad Bradley. That said, tens of millions of gallons of water are expected to be recycled through the device over its tenure. In a span of 15 or 16 training sessions utilizing the Pump Pod, the department has saved nearly 40,000 gallons of water, Bradly said.

Fire trainees shoot the hoses into a large tank where approximately 2,000 gallons are stored. The water from the tank gets pulled through a fire truck and back into the hoses, and so on. Prior to this, training water would have the possibility to run off and erode as it entered into the ecosystem so quickly.

New device will help Northwest Fire District save water in training

Gov. Katie Hobbs and Northwest Fire District Chief Brad Bradley on Thursday discuss a new devices that will recycle water during firefighter training.

“Every single drop we can conserve is important,” said Gov. Katie Hobbs, who was in Marana on Thursday to see the device in action. Fire officials and media members were on scene as the Pump Pod sprang to life. “I’m grateful to the WIFA board for making these funds available,” she said.

WIFA provides grants of up to $250,000 per project or $3,000,000 per program through its Water Conservation Grant Fund (WCGF). Applicants must match the grant with 25% of the total cost.

“People of the state of Arizona want to conserve water and be more efficient, but want to have funds to do so,” said former WIFA Chairman David Beckham. “There’s been a mind shift in the state of Arizona. It’s been around since 70s. It used to be no one cared about water.”

That has since changed, Beckham said.

“You are showing leadership in Arizona to create these sustainable situations to conserve water,” Beckham said.

___

(c)2024 The Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, Ariz.)

Visit The Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, Ariz.) at www.tucson.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Brandi Makuski

In an effort to tackle ongoing challenges with aging equipment, the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department has added three new hybrid service trucks to its fleet.

Capt. Justin A. “JT” Turner, a department veteran of 23 years who currently chairs its Apparatus Committee, explained that the new vehicles are essential given the department’s deteriorating fleet.

“We’ve got nearly a third of our fleet out of service at any given time due to maintenance issues,” Turner said. “I would say all of our vehicles are past their life cycle, and these hybrids will help keep us operational when one of our aerial ladders goes down.”

But “hybrid” is a bit of a misnomer. Turner said the department used the term to describe the new trucks because the vehicles combine several key features of traditional fire apparatus without including the expensive aerial ladders typically found on ladder trucks.

Calling the trucks “hybrid” is more of a nickname, Turner said, as the rigs are not environmentally focused. “They’re not electric—it’s just a catchy term because hybrids are a hot topic,” Turner said.

The trucks carry the full complement of equipment that a traditional ladder truck would have, except for the aerial ladder, which is rarely used by the department. The mix of capabilities, paired with cost-saving measures, inspired the hybrid designation.

“They’re essentially a chassis with a toolbox on it,” he said.

The hybrid trucks, which cost about $600,000 each, are designed as a more economical solution compared with fully-equipped ladder trucks. According to Turner, a traditional aerial ladder truck can cost up to $2 million, including the equipment.

“The most expensive part of the aerial trucks is the ladder itself, and for us, it’s the least-used feature,” Turner said.

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