Outer Banks, North Carolina - Department profiles

[Andrew2340]

As always, awesome pictures Mike! Reading your topics is always like being in the passenger seat for the trip! This might be a dumb question, but does Carova Beach have any larger capacity engines, or just brush trucks? And what's the IHC or Ford or whatever in the 2nd bay left from the new Tanker? Thanks!!

[Engine504Driver]

[quote name='Andrew2340' post='145463' date='Sep 2 2007, 00:33 ']As always, awesome pictures Mike! Reading your topics is always like being in the passenger seat for the trip! This might be a dumb question, but does Carova Beach have any larger capacity engines, or just brush trucks? And what's the IHC or Ford or whatever in the 2nd bay left from the new Tanker? Thanks!![/quote]





Ditto Mike.....great pics as always...............my trip to OBX this year was uneventful, photo-wise, as we spent most of the time doing "family" things !!

[mnsand]

[quote name='Andrew2340' post='145463' date='Sep 2 2007, 00:33 ']As always, awesome pictures Mike! Reading your topics is always like being in the passenger seat for the trip! This might be a dumb question, but does Carova Beach have any larger capacity engines, or just brush trucks? And what's the IHC or Ford or whatever in the 2nd bay left from the new Tanker? Thanks!![/quote]





Andrew,



Thank you. Yes, Carova Beach does run two engines. I posted these earlier on this thread and did not post my new photos because nothing has changed with Carova's line up in terms of their engines.



Here are the photos I took last week of their two engines.



Engine 735

1986 International S1800 4x4/Grumman Tiger Cat

1000/1000

serial number 17498





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

Carova Beach Engine 739

1992 International 4800 4x4/Boardman

1000/1000

serial number F2885







Nothing new is planned appartus wise for a bit with Carova Beach. The Chief did mention to me that he feels it is necessary to have a substation located near the beach area between Carova Beach and Corolla. There is an area located outside of 5 miles from Carova Beach and this impacts their ISO rating. That station is only conversations at this point.





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

I took this photo on my way to the Southern Beaches in OBX.



This is Dare County Ambulance 266 that was sitting to the rear of the Dare County EMS station in Kill Devil Hills, right behind the fire station.



If you have been through this area, these Ford E ambulances are in abundance. A Lt. told me that they purchase approximately three of these units each year, however, I was informed that Dare County will now also purchase monster medics and we should begin seeing them show up in the OBX area.





Dare County, NC

Kill Devil Hills EMS station

Ambulance 266

2005 Ford E450/Taylor





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

An update on Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head.



A new Kill Devil Hills station is under construction right at the Kill Devil Hills/Nags Head line. I was told an agreement has been made that this station will have a first due portion within Nags Head and that Kill Devil Hills will receive funding from Nags Head to provide this service. I do not know if Kill Devil Hills has any apparatus on order for this station.



Nags Head once had a small sub-station (Station 20) just across from Jockey's Ridge (the large sand dunes) that was somewhat close to the planned Kill Devil Hills station. This was a small station that housed a Seagrave engine and a Ford F brush truck (I posted these earlier in this thread under the Nags Head area). Station 20 is now "closed" and this facility is now the beach rescue division of Nags Head. The Seagrave engine will be sold in the very near future and the Ford F brush truck is now assigned to the larger Nags Head station (Station 16).



Other Nags Head information:

A new KME engine is on order and should arrive in Nags Head towards the end of the year. I believe this will be a rescue engine and assigned to the newer Station 21. This replaces the Seagrave.



Nags Head had an interesting Kaiser brush truck (Brush 16) and a Kaiser utility truck, both ex- military trucks. These two pieces have been disposed of.



I did photograph Nags Head's reserve engine, Engine 161, while I stopped by Station 21. It was filling in for the rescue engine normally assigned to Station 21, which was out of service for some mechanical work.





Nags Head, NC

Engine 161

1992 E\-One Hurricane

1500/750

serial number 9703





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

The inside station shot......



This is not owned by the Nags Head fire department but it is kept at Station 21. I have no information on this truck except that it is an old Navy truck. I am posting it because if you have spent anytime in the OBX area, you have probably noticed that each department and town/city has old military trucks that they use in times of storms and flooding. If you have gone through this OBX thread, I have posted a variety of these trucks, and some of them have had a radio designation of "Storm".



I think we will slowly see these old Kaiser units go away and be replaced with something similar to what Nags Head has.





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

[quote name='1958 F.W.D.' post='68084' date='Jan 16 2007, 06:50 ']If anyone ever wants to phone-ahead for Avon to make arrangements, their Asst. Chief/Pres of Board is a retired City of Camden, NJ Batallion Chief. Loves to have buffs come in- reminds him of "home." If anyone needs a hook, pm me.[/quote]



I really enjoy the trip down to the Southern Beaches of Dare County. That area is absolutely beautiful with the beaches and light houses. We decided to spend a day down in this area and stop by at some FD's to get some recent deliveries. If you have been here before, you know how difficult it is to find folks at the stations.



I drove by several stations and their were no new deliveries (Chicamacomico Banks and Salvo - all apparatus photos have been posted earlier in this thread).



I really appreciate you posting the contact information regarding Avon because when we arrived, it was closed up tight. Joe Gallagher is the ex- Camden, NJ Batallion Chief, and after a quick call, he came right down to the station. What a nice guy and I enjoyed spending some time talking with him. He does have some old stories and favorite trucks from Camden.



I was after a newer brush truck that Avon had received during the last several years and Joe moved it out for photos.



Avon, NC

Dare County

Brush 46

2005 Ford F550/2006 Anchor-Richey

250/300



This was a demo for Anchor-Richey and was purchased by Avon. It replaced an older Ford F pick up truck used as a brush.





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

I forgot to mention that Avon's brush truck has a remote controlled Sidewinder Monitor, that is controlled by a joy stick within the cab.



Here is the rear of the brush, with a position available for a firefighter to sit and handle a hose during pump and roll situations. Note the grab bar.





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

Avon's station.





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

I stopped by quickly at Buxton (Hatteras Light House) and found no new apparatus (already posted), so I made my way to the Hatteras Rescue Squad, which was also closed up tight. Hatteras Rescue Squad has added a large three door bay facility, giving them much more apparatus room but taking away space for parking, etc.



Headed to Frisco because you never know what you will find there.....and it turned out to be true.



I posted all of Frisco's apparatus earlier and I believe an old Kasier 1 1/4 ton brush unit was also posted. The Kaiser has been replaced by this unusual brush truck.



Brush 44 was designed to be a "Marshland" vehicle and was placed into service during 2007.



Here is the information I have on it....



1984 Ford F350 that has a 6.2 Chevrolet diesel engine and 1 1/4 ton axels.

It was purchased from a local residence, and it was already painted lime!

The FD removed the skid package from their old Kaiser and put it into the Ford.



This is one neat truck.





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

A rear photo of this monster truck.....





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

I posted a picture of Frisco's Utility truck earlier, but at that time, it had no equipment on it.



This piece was once the ladder truck at Frisco, until it was replaced by a 2002 E\-One ladder, also previously posted.



The Utility is now carrying a variety of equipment, including a 40' ground ladder.





Frisco, NC

Dare County

Utility 423

1998 Chevrolet Cheyenne/Knapheide/Carolina Welders (who builds boats)





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[Engine504Driver]

[quote name='mnsand' post='145482' date='Sep 2 2007, 09:25 ']An update on Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head.



A new Kill Devil Hills station is under construction right at the Kill Devil Hills/Nags Head line. I was told an agreement has been made that this station will have a first due portion within Nags Head and that Kill Devil Hills will receive funding from Nags Head to provide this service. I do not know if Kill Devil Hills has any apparatus on order for this station.



Nags Head once had a small sub-station (Station 20) just across from Jockey's Ridge (the large sand dunes) that was somewhat close to the planned Kill Devil Hills station. This was a small station that housed a Seagrave engine and a Ford F brush truck (I posted these earlier in this thread under the Nags Head area). Station 20 is now "closed" and this facility is now the beach rescue division of Nags Head. The Seagrave engine will be sold in the very near future and the Ford F brush truck is now assigned to the larger Nags Head station (Station 16).



Other Nags Head information:

A new KME engine is on order and should arrive in Nags Head towards the end of the year. I believe this will be a rescue engine and assigned to the newer Station 21. This replaces the Seagrave.



Nags Head had an interesting Kaiser brush truck (Brush 16) and a Kaiser utility truck, both ex- military trucks. These two pieces have been disposed of.



I did photograph Nags Head's reserve engine, Engine 161, while I stopped by Station 21. It was filling in for the rescue engine normally assigned to Station 21, which was out of service for some mechanical work.

Nags Head, NC

Engine 161

1992 E\-One Hurricane

1500/750

serial number 9703

Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA[/quote]





Mike,



When I was there in early July, I read in the newspaper the station will be located on a lot on the northeast corner of Hwy 12 and E. 8th St, and it did mention that it would be jointly run together. I took that as they would both have apparatus running out of it, but that could have easily been changed since that article came out, or I simply mis-read it.



Chris

[mnsand]

[quote name='Engine504Driver' post='145562' date='Sep 2 2007, 16:08 ']Mike,



When I was there in early July, I read in the newspaper the station will be located on a lot on the northeast corner of Hwy 12 and E. 8th St, and it did mention that it would be jointly run together. I took that as they would both have apparatus running out of it, but that could have easily been changed since that article came out, or I simply mis-read it.



Chris[/quote]





Chris,



I asked the same question and was told Kill Devil Hill apparatus will be at the station. Things could change.



Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

The gentleman at Frisco who moved apparatus around was also a member at Hatteras Rescue Squad and said he would meet us at the station to get information and photos of their newer Rescue 4, a beach rescue unit. I asked if anything new was at the Hatteras station down the road, and he told me the Ford C pumper I had been trying for a number of years to get photos of was now parked out in the back of the station permanately out of service (see previous posts regarding photos from Hatteras).



I figured if I was going to get any shot of this fire truck that had managed to elude me for many years, I had better do it now. So we drove down to Hatteras with plans on going back to the Hatteras Rescue Squad for a photo of their Rescue 4.



The Ford does appear to be out of service for good. It had some body damage on the drivers side and was sitting in the back of the station looking a bit neglected. So, this photo will have to do.



Hatteras, NC

Engine 2

1975 Ford C750/1977 Grumman-Howe

750gpm

top mount pump

s/n 15022-HO





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

Last year just as we approached the Hatteras Rescue Squad, they got dispatched for a water rescue involving some jet skis. I managed to get to the scene, walk out to the beach, and photograph the new Rescue 4. Unfortunately, I was not able to get information on the truck (builder, etc.). Since I now had someone meeting us at the station, things would go smoother.....or so I thought.



Just as we were approaching the Buxton area where the Hatteras Island Rescue Squad is located, a call came in for a fire alarm at the well known Hatteras Light House. I have been told that this is a common call. In fact, the way I was able to get photographs of all of Buxton's apparatus a number of years ago is when I was in the area and a fire alarm came in for the light house. After clearing this routine call, Buxton members moved apparatus around for photos (posted earlier on this thread).



Well, the fire alarm call got upgraded a bit when Park Rangers reported smoke in the structure. The call got upgraded to include additional Buxton apparatus as well as Frisco apparatus. And there went my driver for the Hatteras Island Rescue Squad running off to Buxton to drive their ladder truck if needed on the call. Fortunately, things were not bad at the light house and the call was ultimately handled by a single engine. It was nice to see the OBX departments in action.



So, once things returned we headed back to Hatteras Island Rescue Squad with our driver. Just as we are pulling into the station, the rescue squad gets an ocean rescue call for boaters in trouble. There goes my driver and Rescue 4 which I was trying to get. Somehow I have a way of seeing fire alarms at the lighthouse and ocean rescue calls whenever I visit this area.



We waited it out and units cleared.



Rescue 4 is set up for ocean rescue. Each time this unit has responded it is towing either jet ski's or a small boat. It is an interesting truck because the 4 door cab is as big or bigger than the squad body. Rescue 4 has also been upgraded a bit since I took a photo of it on the beach the last time I was in the area (posted earlier in this thread). It received a lift kit and bigger tires.



Rescue 4

2005 GMC 3500/Alum-Line

Water Rescue



Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

That wrapped up the apparatus I had missing from OBX stations in Dare County. Next year should be fun with some new apparatus arriving.



We headed back to Virginia on Saturday and I had the opportunity to stop and visit Crawford Township in Currituck County. This fire department is beginning to be one of my favorites to follow. This is one of those FD's who stared with nothing and have managed to acquire a rather unique apparatus roster of both used and new trucks. And for the Virginia fire truck enthusiasts, there are still a number of old Virginia fire trucks running at Crawford.



I have posted most of the Crawford Township apparatus earlier in this thread. I wanted to visit Crawford again because they are slowly changing all of their apparatus to black over red.



Crawford Township runs from three stations. Their main station is in Sligo, and can be seen from the main road after while driving towards OBX and leaving Moyock. Next comes their Currituck Station, which is the small three bay station which can also be seen from the main road. Their Maple Station is located off the main road heading towards Elizabeth City. After speaking with the Chief, I had arrangements to visit Maple and the Sligo station for photos that I needed.



In 1990, Crawford TWP acquired three Seagrave's from Virginia Beach - 2 engines and a ladder truck. All three were white with red stripes. One of the Seagrave pumpers was repainted to red a number of years ago and the ladder truck was repainted last year to black over red (posted earlier).



I absolutely love this Seagrave now assigned to the Maple Station as Engine 436. It has just returned from being painted black over red.



Crawford Twp, NC

Currituck County

Engine 436

1980 Seagrave PB 25068

1500/1000

s/n K79123

ex- Virginia Beach, VA (I have it as ex- Engine 2)





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

A new brush truck was added to the Maple Station roster last year. It replaced a 1977 Dodge Power Wagon brush unit.





Brush 4

2006

Ford F350

250/300

skid from 1977 Dodge brush





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

The old brush truck at the Maple station did not go away.....it was converted to a utility unit and repainted to the black over red.



Utility 443

1977 Dodge W20 Power Wagon

lights, portable pumps, etc.





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA