This & That from Here & There
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After the holidays and an eight-day bout with covid, I ventured out yesterday, to continue my quest to photograph apparatus from every county in Georgia. The weather forecast was for sunny skies in the area I was going, with some cloudiness in the afternoon. I targeted six counties, but had made no prior arrangements. From the info I had been able to gather, the first three counties are all volunteer, with one paid station in the fourth. I had not even researched the last two. Leaving around 6AM, I reached my first target around 9, Cobbtown, GA (Tattnall County). I was unsuccessful at finding anyone, so I headed to the next target. There was an EMS crew working next door and the medic contacted the Fire Chief. He would be unable to assist me then, but maybe later. My plan was to head east to Evans County, then come back through Tattnall County before moving further south. Off to Evans County I went, stopping at Bellville, Hagan, and Claxton before finding anyone.
Engine 2, Claxton, GA 2004 International 4400/E One 1250/1000 #127927
The Claxton volunteers operate three stations, another in Claxton and the one in Bellville. There are two other FD's in the county, Daisy and Hagan, but they were unable to get me any contacts there. Since all of the Claxton members were at the main station for training, no one offered to take me to the other stations, so I called the Chief at Collins and headed back that way.
Rescue 1, Claxton, GA 2005 Ford F-550 4x4/Fouts Brothers
The black/red E One pumper sitting in the bay in the above photo turned out to be one I have photographed in a previous life (it's life, not mine!) Both of my photos of it can be found in the "Once is not enough" thread.
Engine 63, Collins, GA (1 of 5 purchased by Tattnall County) 2016 Freightliner M2/Pierce Contender 1250/2000 #29040TR-02
My plan was to go south from Collins to Reidsville and then on farther south to Glennville, both in Tattnall County, before going farther south to Long and McIntosh Counties. I asked the Collins Chief if he had contacts at Reidsville and Glennville and he happily shared them with me, but nothing came of it at either place. On to Long County, which I assumed was Volunteer. It turns out that Long County began staffing three of their five stations in December, so I lucked out, shooting two rigs at Station 4 and three at Station 1.
Engine 4, Long County, GA 2021 Freightliner M2/E One 1500/1000/30F #144002
Long County Station 3 is not staffed, but the guys at Station 1 go check it every day. They told me that Engine 3 was "different" and I might want to photograph it. It was about 10 miles away, but in the direction I was heading to my next stop. They offered to go then, so I could photograph it and then continue my trip. I agreed!
Engine 3, Long County, GA 1986 Volvo FE-7/E One 1250/1000 #5185
After shooting Engine 3, my next planned stop was Darien, GA in McIntosh County. I had made contact with the DFD previously and was led to believe they had paid staffing. When I arrived, there was a POV in the parking lot and the front door to the station was open. I went in, but there wasn't a soul in the building. There were no empty bays to indicate they were on a call. I went next door to the Police Station, but there wasn't anyone there either. The sign on the door stated M-F, 8-5! I then sat in my car for a bit to see if anyone showed up, but they never did. During that time, I used the info I had and my GPS to see if I could locate any of the 8 McIntosh County stations. The info I had included "community" names or a road name for each station, but no specific address. None were listed on my GPS. The plan was to head back up into Long County before heading west into Wayne County and the City of Jesup. I searched for three McIntosh County stations along the way, but never found a single one of them. When I arrived at Jesup, I discovered that they have a two-station paid department. As you may have noticed, I had lost the sun and it would be overcast the rest of the day.
Rescue 1, Jesup, GA 2005 Freightliner M2/E.V.I. #RM-2629
This would be the last shot of that trip. By the time I arrived at the next station, in Baxley (Appling County), it was too dark to get decent pics, but I did run into one of their Volunteers and got the Chief's name and number so I can set something up in the future. Total for the day - 15 "new" apparatus, 1 "twice" apparatus, 4 counties. Ten counties to go!
Engine 2, Jesup, GA 2005 Freightliner M2/E One 1250/1000/30F #130714 |
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