Chesapeake Va Fire Stations

[photone]

The Fentress fire company came into being in 1946 with the original station being built at the same approximate site as the present station. A new station was built on the same site in 1951. Norfolk County, by the way, was actually a combination department as Fentress (And most of the other fire companies) had two salaried firefighters to supplement the volunteers.



   



This station was in use until 1982, when the present station was built.



Thanks to CFD Capt Sam Gulisano for the pic and permission.

[photone]

Station 7 St Brides.



Station 7 is located at 3329 S Battlefield Blvd, in the far southeastern portion of the city less than five miles from the N.C. State Line. For this reason, the crew has christened themselves ‘The Border Patrol. The station is home to Engine 7 (A Pierce Quantum pumper/tanker) and Medic 7 as well as the department’s ladder and sign shops. This is also the home of ‘The Old Pirsch Behind Station 7’.



   



The station was built in 1958 as the St Brides Volunteer Fire Department and had a single salaried firefighter augmenting the volunteers. The first rig was a 1959 Ford/American LaFrance 500/750. The building has undergone numerous alterations, modifications, and additions over the 51 years it’s been in service. 1n 1977, for example, a bay was added for a tanker, and since them the building has been completely remodeled inside and out.

[hank]

Good pictures and history of how the department came along over the years.



tHANKs

[photone]

[quote name='hank' date='29 March 2010 - 11:03 PM' timestamp='1269917018' post='373262']

Good pictures and history of how the department came along over the years.



tHANKs

[/quote]



Thank ya Hank!

[photone]

Station 8 Deep Creek.



Stations 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 are clustered in a pair of vertical lines in the northwestern portion of Chesapeake with 8 and 9 at the knight’s left shoulder, and 10, 11, and 12 located in the panhandle formed by our fictional knight’s upraised left arm.



Station 8’s at 209 N George Washington highway (U S 17) in the community of Deep Creek, which is another community worth an extra trip for sightseeing purposes. Station 8’s very close to the Dismal Swamp Canal (Also part of the Intracoastal Waterway). In fact the Sunday I grabbed these shots a major bridge replacement project was under way to replace the U.S. Rt. 17 Bridge crossing the canal, with Station 8 smack dab in the middle of all of the project's traffic headaches . The guys at Station 8 (Known as ‘The Hornet’s Nest’) were counting down the days until it was finished.



Engine’s 8 and 28. Medic 8, and Brush 8 are assigned to Station 8, with the Volunteers on Engine 28.



   



Station 8 began life in 1957 as the Deep Creek Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad, with the original station being a former service station. I believe the two smaller bays on the right are actually the original station, much modified, with the larger bays a later addition. I talked at length with a couple of the firefighters on duty, and they told me that they believed that this was indeed the site of the original station. The two smaller bays now house the station’s cascade system and a weight room.

[photone]

Another angle of Station 8, with the original bays in the foreground.



   



I really like the brick bench that's integral with the decorative wall and the 'rain cap' above the entrance walkway.



   



Station 8's nickname and logo above the public entrance

[photone]

Station 9 Camelot (Formerly Brentwood. )



Station 9 was opened in 2005 at 2816 Camelot Blvd to replace Engine 9’s old quarters on Shelbrooke Rd. The station is almost due north of Station 8, just below the point of the knight’s left shoulder. The sky was really beginning to look iffy when I shot Station 9, but I still managed to get some fair shots…this is an excellent example of the station’s that Chesapeake has been building lately. Really nice, and definitely big…I had to walk across Camelot Blvd and up a few feet into a driveway to get the entire station in the frame. Engine 9, Battalion 3, and the Command bus call Station 9 home.



   

[photone]

The fire company that would become Engine 9 actually began life in Craddock Va, the country’s first planned community, as the Craddock Volunteer Fire Department.

Craddock was in Norfolk County, but was annexed along with a sizable hunk of Norfolk County by Portsmouth in 1958. The volunteers at Craddock moved a couple of miles South to Brentwood and built a new station on Shelbrook Dr, right at Old Manor Drive, becoming the Brentwood Volunteer Fire Department.



   



This station, with numerous additions,still exists, and is still used by the Chesapeake Fire Department training division. Old Station 9 was tucked away in a subdivision and difficult to find if you didn’t know where it was. In fact if Engine 9’s Captain hadn’t aimed me towards the old house, I would’ve never found it found it.

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Another angle of old Station 9, showing the 'A' roofed original station, which was integrated into the building as additions were constructed and remodelings performed over it's nearly 50 years of existence.



   



Look closely behind the bushes at the A/B corner and you can make out where one of the original bay doors was.

[photone]

Station 10 Bowers Hill



Station 10’s located at 629 Homestead Rd, just off S Military Highway and is the southernmost of the three stations located in the city’s northwestern panhandle. Station 10 was built in 1971 as a combination fire station/police precinct and was used in that capacity until 1997. Battalion 3 was also quartered at #10 at one time. At present Engine 10 (Chesapeake’s only Squrt), Medic 10 and Brush 10 call Station 10 home..



   



Station 10 got its start in 1959 as the Sunray Volunteer fire Department, which had no station of its own, but whose members assisted other fire companies. They didn’t have a home of their own until Chesapeake organized Engine Company 10 at consolidation.



I don’t believe he present Station 10 is engine 10’s original station though I could well be wrong. A couple of people said they remembered another station on Military Highway and one noted it was near a VFW post. I also have a very hazy memory of passing a station on Military Highway on my frequent childhood trips to The Eastern Shore. HMMMM…another mystery to solve!

[photone]

An interesting little Bower’s Hill Factoid…the universally accepted but incorrect assumption about the origin of the name ‘Bowers Hill’.



The community where the present Station 10’s located is known as Sunray, and in fact it’s considered a Historic District. However the area is also known as (Possibly better known as ) Bowers Hill, and has been called Bowers Hill since the 19th century.



Thing is, many people think the name ‘Bower’s Hill’ came along in the ‘40s. When Military highway (US13/460) was built in 1943, it included an ‘S’ shaped overpass over the Virginian Railway’s tracks. The bridge had unusually short approach fills giving it a steep grade (I’ve heard it couldn’t be built with that gradient under today’s guidelines). Tidewater Virginia is board flat so if you were coming in from the West…from Suffolk…you could see the overpass long before you actually reached it as it was the highest point for miles around. I can attest to this as I traveled to the Eastern Shore and to Norfolk regularly with my parents back in the 60s.



The bridge was a landmark for travelers on 460 and 13 for decades, until the present system of interstate interchanges replaced it and many people incorrectly assume that Bower’s Hill was actually named after the bridge, which stood at the approximate location of the present I-664/464/64 interchange with Military Highway

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Station 11 Dock Landing



Station 11’s located at 2040 Dock Landing Rd, about midway up the panhandle forearm, and is home to Engine 11 and Medic 11.Couldn’t find a whole lot of info about # 11, and the crew was out of quarters when I stopped by (With the clouds really beginning to press down, I might add.)



   



Station 11 was likely built at consolidation to plug the gap between the Bowers Hill and Western Branch stations (10 and 12) as originally Station 12 was nearly three miles north and east of it’s current location in what is now Portsmouth, which annexed a section of Chesapeake.(I know…you’re thinking ‘Wait…say Wha…???’)



More to come! On to Station 12!

[photone]

Station 12 Western Branch.



Station 12 is located at 4421 Taylor Rd at the northern tip of the panhandle and is home to Engine 12, Ladder 12, and Medic 12. The station is a clone of Station 1 and would fit right in another firepics thread as the station’s parking lot is bordered by a rail line. The station is actually built on pilings due to the swampy conditions of the area (A bulldozer was eaten by the swamp while the land was being cleared. A crane had to be brought in to pull it out)



Engine 12 had a run of alarm activations few minutes earlier before I made my last stop of the day at #12. The sky was really beginning to look nasty at this point and everyone was busy with one task or the other so the thought I’d entertained RE: asking if 12 Trucks new Quantum TDA could be pulled out for a couple of pics was abandoned. Sun and time will be on my side on another trip. I grabbed some pics, shot the bull with a couple of the crew for a minute or so, and headed for 664 and home (With a stop at Cowling’s BBQ in Waverly in between…some of the best BBQ in Virginia! <img src='http://www.firepics.net/groupboards/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> )



   



Station 12 started out in 1943 as the Western Branch Vol Fire Department on Cedar Lane in what’s now Portsmouth. At consolidation in 1963, the fire company became Chesapeake Station 12 and remained at the Cedar Lane location until 1968.



There was some reshuffling of areas and boundaries (I believe because of an annexation suit that had been filed against Norfolk County by Portsmouth just prior to consolidation) and at the end of it all, CFD Station 12 was now Portsmouth Station 12.



The annexation took effect at midnight on Jan 1 1968, and the crew from Western Branch pulled up stakes and headed South. But their new house was under construction and wouldn’t be ready for 2 years, so Western Branch ran from Station 11 during that time. They had three engines and an ambulance running from Station 11 until # 12 was completed.

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Station 13 Cornland.



Station 13 is located at 2900 Benefit Rd in the south end of Chesapeake, all by it’s lonesome near the bottom of the knight’s cape and is a clone of Station 10. The station was built in 1974 to plug a huge gap in that end of the city…before Station 13 was built Stations 5, 7, and 8 covered the area with long LONG response times required.



   





Originally Station 13 had a pair of engines and a brush truck manned by a single salaried firefighter and a single officer supplemented by volunteers. Manpower is now 3 firefighters and an officer on Engine 13, and the rig’s a huge Pierce Pumper/Tanker with a 1750 gallon tank (It’s twin’s at Station 7) Engine 13 shares quarters with Brush 13



I talked at length with a young lady assigned to Engine 13,…they have very few hydrants and are getting mansion sized homes in their area. I can attest to this as I passed a couple of homes that could have easily passed as office buildings.

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Station 15 was built in 1999 and is located between Stations 5 and 8 at 1345 Bell’s Mill Rd in the north central portion of Chesapeake.



Station 15’s home to Engine and Squad 15 as well as the Chesapeake Technical Rescue Team.



This was another station that had the sun in the exact wrong lace when I got there!



   





And that's it for Chesapeake...Hope everyone enjoyed, and thanks for looking!

[VFN102]

[quote name='photone' date='29 March 2010 - 08:17 PM' timestamp='1269907069' post='373177']

Chesapeake Engine 3, responding on a medical just moments after I arrived at the station.

[/quote]





........are you SURE that is Engine 3 Rob? These are good looking rigs, I saw a couple at the Singer shop in Chester.

[mikext]

[quote name='photone' date='30 March 2010 - 09:15 AM' timestamp='1269953730' post='373312']

Station 8 Deep Creek.



Stations 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 are clustered in a pair of vertical lines in the northwestern portion of Chesapeake with 8 and 9 at the knight’s left shoulder, and 10, 11, and 12 located in the panhandle formed by our fictional knight’s upraised left arm.



Station 8’s at 209 N George Washington highway (U S 17) in the community of Deep Creek, which is another community worth an extra trip for sightseeing purposes. Station 8’s very close to the Dismal Swamp Canal (Also part of the Intracoastal Waterway). In fact the Sunday I grabbed these shots a major bridge replacement project was under way to replace the U.S. Rt. 17 Bridge crossing the canal, with Station 8 smack dab in the middle of all of the project's traffic headaches . The guys at Station 8 (Known as ‘The Hornet’s Nest’) were counting down the days until it was finished.



Engine’s 8 and 28. Medic 8, and Brush 8 are assigned to Station 8, with the Volunteers on Engine 28. Engine 28 is career staffed.







Station 8 began life in 1957 as the Deep Creek Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad, with the original station being a former service station. I believe the two smaller bays on the right are actually the original station, much modified, with the larger bays a later addition. I talked at length with a couple of the firefighters on duty, and they told me that they believed that this was indeed the site of the original station. The two smaller bays now house the station’s cascade system and a weight room.

[/quote]

[DaveYoung]

Photone- not only are the pics outstanding, but the stories and history that you present along with the pics is first rate. If you ever write a book about fire stations in the region, I'll buy one.

[photone]

[quote name='VFN102' date='30 March 2010 - 10:50 PM' timestamp='1270002616' post='373457']

........are you SURE that is Engine 3 Rob? These are good looking rigs, I saw a couple at the Singer shop in Chester.

[/quote]



Yep...I've examined the pic closely, using highly classified scientific doo-dads and such. Though it's hard to make out, it MIGHT actually be Engine 3 <img src='http://www.firepics.net/groupboards/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> I grabbed some shots of the rigs at Singer myself. They are indeed sharp rides!!





[quote name='DaveYoung' date='31 March 2010 - 12:39 AM' timestamp='1270009159' post='373463']

Photone- not only are the pics outstanding, but the stories and history that you present along with the pics is first rate. If you ever write a book about fire stations in the region, I'll buy one.

[/quote]





Thanks Dave...and in fact such a project has indeed been on my mind! Thanks for the kind words and encouragement!

[Engine2524]

Great pictures, Rob and thanks for the history lesson. Until now, all I really knew about Chesapeake was the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and that retired NASCAR driver Ricky Rudd is from there.