Unit 8 at Pulaski was delayed in being delivered to the fire department because of the restructuring that occurred at American LaFrance during the time this engine was built.
Photo opportunities are a bit tight at Pulaski with the station having very little ramp room and close to traffic. This was a common occurance with the SW Virginia stations.
After Pulaski I made a quick stop at Atkins, Virginia in Smyth County. Atkins has a new Sutphen which I wanted to see. Sutphen is not uncommon in the Virginia area, especially with stations along the Shenandoah I81 area. What is a bit uncommon is a commerical Sutphen, which is what Atkins received.
702 is a 2005 International 4400/2006 Sutphen with serial number HS4116.
This was a demonstrator pumper that was located in California. Members from Atkins flew out to California to look at it, and it was ultimately purchased and made it way to Atkins.
This is when the weather started to become quite cloudy with on and off rain.
I'm sure there were two, and I believe there were four of these in Henrico. They were nicknamed the "Frog" because they were thought to be ugly. Here is the only one in my collection during better days.
From Atkins I drove to Abingdon, Virginia. Unfortunately, the fire station was closed up tight and I did not have time to try and track someone down. I believe that photos of their apparatus (Pierce) have been posted on other threads in Firepics.
Not far from the fire station is the Washington County Life Saving Crew station. I found several interesting small rescues.
Rescue 51 is a 2001 Dodge Ram 3500 with a 1990's Taylor Made body.
At this point, it just poured and we had a good thunder/lighting storm. Later on in the afternoon, I had to continue towards Norton, Virginia to my hotel, so I figured my apparatus shooting was done for the day. Wrong.
While on my way to Norton, I came across Castlewood, Virginia in Russell County. Driving by, I noticed the bay doors were up so I had to stop. I had the opportunity to meet with a great group of folks who took the time to move everything out and even take me to their small substation.
The fire department and rescue squad in Castlewood combined, and the majority of the apparatus run out of one station. The old rescue station houses several apparatus and a small boat.
Two tankers operate from the main station, and I am going to need some help from our Pennsylvania members.
505 is a 1975 Chevrolet/1974 Techweld that carries 1600 gallons of water and has a small portable pump.
On the inside of the cab is a FMC sticker that was ripped and torn, and there was no serial number. It appears that this Chevrolet was once a FMC pumper. At some point, a 1974 Techweld tanker body (obviously from another truck) was added to the Chevrolet. It was later sold to Castlewood.
Now the really big clue for the Pennsylvania members - the Castlewood members think that the Pennsylvania department that they purchased this tanker from was pronounced something like "Nippennose". No, I am not joking. One member even said he had a hat at home from the Pennsylvania station that had the name on it and he could drive home to get it, but it may take awhile to find it. No kidding - now is that hospitality!! I appreciated the thought but did not have the time as I wanted to get to Norton before dark.
Any ideas on "Nippennose"? Please try and keep wise cracks to a minimum.
506 is a 2006 Ford F750 with a tanker body built by Virginian, which is located in Richlands, Virginia. It holds 2000 gallons with a small portable pump.
Squad duties at Castlewood are handled by this small rescue truck, which is a 2006 Ford F350 with a Reading body. The department also did work on Rescue 17, such as adding the scene lights, etc.
Castlewood Unit 502 is an all purpose vehicle and can also serve as a brush truck if needed (carrying equipment only - no pump and tank). It is a 1993 Ford Bronco donated to the deparment.