HOMECOMING
Teen firefighter Clay Thornburg was on his way to a call December 28 when his truck slipped on ice and flipped. The Hugh’s Pond Fire Department (North Carolina), where he serves as a volunteer, had to cut him out, and he has spent the past 7 weeks in the hospital recovering from his injuries. Wednesday morning, his department drove him home. Fire trucks with signs and flags waited for the motorcade to pass along the 40 mile ride, and residents lined the streets of his hometown of Cherryville to welcome him home.
Click on the picture above to see WSOC’s full interview with Clay and here for the full story and here for a slideshow of his ride home. WBTV also has more on the story and pictures here.
NEW APPARATUS + OLD BUILDINGS = TIGHT SQUEEZE (The Danbury, Connecticut, Version)
How to move the Danbury (Connecticut) Fire Department forward — that’s what a 13-member task force was asked to decide. The group, which included career and volunteer firefighters and city officials, submitted its report in November. One of the problems is shared by other departments around the country.
The department has apparatus with tight squeezes in stations. There are some rigs that are too large to be worked on in headquarters, so they must wait until warm weather for repairs or maintenance. Among the task force’s recommendations is to remodel or replace facilities. Read more from the NewsTimes.com here.
INCIDENTS & ACCIDENTS
One person was transported after a car and a Los Angeles City fire truck collided. The driver of the car was taken to the hospital. The rig was headed to a call. More in the Beverly Hills Couriers here and from KCBS here.
In Chicago, a pizza delivery car and a fire truck collided. The pizza delivery driver suffered minor injuries. ABC7′s story is here.
FUNDING
West Long Branch Fire Department (New Jersey) — $25,000/year for 10 years from Monmouth University
Galveston — $191,000 (from Homeland Security)
Bridgeton (NJ) Fire Department — more than $1 million (from Homeland Security)
Landisville Volunteer Fire Department, in Buena Borough (NJ) — $237,500 (from Assistance to Firefighters Grant program)
North Ridgeville (Ohio) — $270,000 (federal grant)
FUNDRAISERS
This Saturday, the Ira Township Fire Fighters Association (Michigan) is hosting an evening of pizza, bowling, and raffles to raise money to help restore a 1929 REO/Howe pumper. Last August, the association bought the antique which is a replica of the Ira department’s first apparatus. Details for the fundraiser are here in the Voice.
Enjoy ice fishing? Join the Jamestown (North Dakota) Rural Fire Department‘s annual fishing derby this Saturday. The money raised in 2009 helped purchase a $140,000 water truck. This year, the department plans on getting a new grass truck. If you’re in the area and want to fish for a good cause, click here for details in the Jamestown Sun.
If you’re going to be in Fall River, Massachusetts, on March 6, you might consider stopping by a clam boil to benefit the Fall River Fire Museum. According to the Herald-News, the museum memorializes “city firefighters that died in the line of duty.” They’ve also been collecting new and vintage equipment, including apparatus. More details are here.
