Tuesday marked the beginning of demolition on the building that sits at the site of Kirkland’s future Fire Station 27, reports kirklandreporter.com.

A contractor is preparing the Northeast 132nd Street plot for a state-of-the-art facility for the Kirkland Fire Department that will help first responders reduce response times to Totem Lake, Kingsgate, and North Rose Hill, the report says.

Station 27’s relocation from the west side of Interstate 405 to the east side is part of Fire Proposition 1, which passed in 2020. Along with the construction and relocation of fire stations on Finn Hill and in Juanita, the plan includes renovations to stations in Central Houghton, North Rose Hill, and Forbes Creek Drive, the report says.

The two-story station will feature three-and-a-half bays, eight sleeping rooms, a decontamination room, bunker gear, basic life support, and supply storage. King County is partnering with Kirkland to pay $50,000 for the half-engine bay, and, in return, its Medic One division will have the right to use that bay, the report says. It will be the first time in 10 years that Medic 123 will operate out of a Kirkland fire station.

The first station is expected to be complete in summer 2023.

Village council recently voted to purchase a new ladder truck for the Byesville Volunteer Fire Department, reports daily-jeff.com.

The 100-foot 1999 aerial will be purchased from Command Fire Apparatus of Landisville (PA) and will replace the department’s 45-year-old apparatus, the report says.

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The truck costs $159,000, and the village will initially pay $26,000, which includes a $10,000 donation from the Byesville Fireman’s Association, according to the report.

Byesville will take out a five-year loan with a fixed interest rate of no more than 2.99% on the remaining $133,000.

According to a report from 9News, a record-breaking season of wildfire destruction in Colorado has opened many peoples’ eyes to the fact that many of the state’s firefighters don’t have the gear they need to move forward.

This includes gear that doesn’t fit properly–their boots that are too small, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) doesn’t properly protect crews from carcinogens. 

This issue has been years in the making. Nearly 80 percent of Colorado firefighters are volunteer, many of them residing outside the Denver metro area. Many fire departments, especially smaller or volunteer, cannot afford the proper life-saving equipment. 

Colorado Fire Commission Administrator Lisa Pine expressed worry about ill-fitting masks that would not be able protect members from leaks that could introduce toxic and super-heated gases into their lungs, saying that the fire service has not done a good enough job indicating what is needed.

Some departments are seeking grants and even conducting bake sales and chili cook-offs to fundraise for needed gear, while indivisual members have even purchased their gear with their own money. The state does offers grants, but the amount of money available fluctuates each year, depending on the budget, and can fall short of what is needed. 

Despite donning improperly-fitting gear, fire crews still responded to the Marshall, East Troublesome, and Grizzly Creek Fires, an impressive feat considering most of the responders were volunteers.

One other aspect of this issue is that many fire departments are funded locally, but when a fire happens, they respond from all over the state. So, these agencies are looked at like a state asset.

Research shows the health risks firefighters take, such as developing cancer, and how wearing proper gear helps stave off potential diseases. Although volunteers are often the first to arrive to many fires, it’s the fires that broke records that finally caught more people’s attention.

Another factor in all of this is that a lot of these departments are locally funded, but when a fire happens, they respond from all over the state. So, these agencies are looked at like a state asset, and now the state is trying to fund them better. 

Recently, the Colorado state legislature approved a $5 million grant to help buy gear. That bill is awaiting the signature of Governor Jared Polis (D). Another bill currently under consideration will provide more long-term funding for the same issue. 

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The York City Department of Fire/Rescue Services has shared, via Facebook user Greg Halpin, a piece of its apparatus history. A real blast from the past—51 years in the past, to be exact.

However, the story comes with a bittersweet memory:

“On February 25, 1971 at about 8:10 p.m. the Rex ladder truck was passing through the 600 block of South Duke Street, driving normally, when a large tree fell across the cab of the apparatus, striking career firefighter Donald E. Harrison, pinning him to the back of the cab in the passenger seat. Harrison was transported to York Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 10:27 p.m. that evening. Firefighter Robert Rizzio, the driver of the ladder truck, was treated for a bruised left shoulder. Tillerman Gregory Holtzapple was uninjured,” the Facebook post says.