After my dad watched me get bitten by the fire engine bug over the past couple of years, he started getting the itch. Now, you have to understand that the only exposure that my dad has to the fire service is having served as the treasurer of our VFD for the past 8 years, and listening to my war stories. He was hesitant to get into the hobby, but since he was able to purchase this very well maintained 1981 Mack CF from Chesterfield Fire Department, he's taken to it like a fish to water. It's really been neat to see him get into the hobby!
About the rig: it's a 1981 Mack CF686 (CF686F15-1439) that was spec'd by the Enon Volunteer Fire Department (Company 6) and purchased by Chesterfield County. It served as their 2nd out-engine, and was designated Unit 64. In those days, any rig that ended with a "4" meant that it had a 1500gpm pump. When Chesterfield changed all of their unit designations in the early-to-mid 2000's, it was then designated E-206. When some apparatus moves were made, and some new rigs purchased, this became a training academy piece (E-36), and was stored at nearby Station 18. The rig saw little use while at training, and wasn't abused like many of them usually are.
Here's the rig as it appeared while in service, photo courtesy of Tom Shand:
I started one of these several years ago, but it looks like it petered out and was lost in one of the periodic file purges.
The United States Forest Service was founded in 1905, and currently protects 193 million acres of public forest and grassland. It is divided into 9 regions numbered 1-10 (Region 7 was eliminated in 1965 and its forests added to Regions 8 & 9). The regions have a fair amount of autonomy and tend to develop their own style of apparatus based on budgets, fire occurance, water availablity and fuel type.
Regions tend to follow geography and fuel types and do not strictly follow state lines, so some states are in more than one region. Each region manages 15-20 National Forests / Grasslands.
Region 1 - Northern region Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota
Region 2 - Rocky Mountain region Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas
Region 3 - Southwest region Arizona, New Mexico, Texas
Region 4 - Intermountain region Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming
Region 5 - Pacific Southwest California, Hawaii / Pacific islands
Region 6 - Pacific Northwest Oregon, Washington
Region 7 - Was the Eastern region, eliminated in 1965
Region 8 - Southern region Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Puerto Rico
Region 9 - Eastern region (Lake States Region until 1965) Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusettes, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine
Region 10 - Alaska region Alaska
Traditionally Regions 3,5 and 6 have the most active fire seasons and the largest fire organizations.
Regions 1 and 2 have smaller organizations, due to the remoteness and rugged terrain there is a large reliance on aircraft (air tankers, helicopters and smokejumpers).
Regions 8 and 9 are smaller younger forests close to populated areas. Most of these forests were created through the Weeks act of 1911 and are reclaimed land heavily cut over and developed by the end of the 19th century. The fire organizations in these regions are small. Unlike the other regions that have developed their own apparatus these two regions tend to buy "off the shelf", mostly small slip on pumper units.
Region 10 is Alaska which has its own unique issues. Fire engines are rare, firefighting is mostly done by crews who are transported by boats, and aircraft.
This is a subject close to me so I'm happy to try and answer any questions. I have a lot of photos so I'll be dribbling these out a few at a time. I hope to see others add some of their own.
I'll start with one of the earliest known pieces of USFS fire apparatus. In 1915 the Sierra National put a 1915 Model T speeder in service to patrol the logging railroads in the mountains east of Fresno.
Violetville Volunteer Fire Department, in Baltimore County took delivery of a 2010 Spartan Gladiator/Rosenbauer from DPC.
It has a 1500 pump with 750 gallons of water.
It's the first time in a long time that everything in the house has the same paint scheme!!
I've been trying to get this new rig for the past few weeks. It's been in and out of the station getting outfitted and I finally caught up with it today.
It worked out great with an hour or so of good sunshine and I caught a good fire because I was in the right neighborhood for a change!!!
Plaistow still has this truck and it is kept behind there currnet station in a garage that houses a 1948 Diamod T that replaced the Seagrave and is assigned as Engine 1 as well.
![[Image: chesterfield%20engine%2064-L.jpg]](http://www.virginiafirepix.com/Other/1981-Mack-CF600/i-5K4PvRQ/0/L/chesterfield%20engine%2064-L.jpg)
