Andrew Messer Photos

[BFD1151]

Rich,

It does seem unusual that a fire department would sell fireworks but you also have to understand how things work in TN. Many departments run on very limited budgets so they have to find different ways to raise funds to get the equipment they need. In several rural counties in TN, the county government will give each dept $15-$25,000 then the rest of the funds have to come from somewhere else because there is no fire tax in these communities. It is like the VFDs in these areas are an afterthought for the local government giving them such a small amount of money. This is why you will see lots of second, third or even fourth-hand trucks in eastern TN.

[Guest]

[quote name='Andrew2340' post='320330' date='Jul 10 2009, 20:26 ']Thanks Dave! That sounds like an excellent plan to me! Only drawback is, 99% of the FD's in Wilkes County are volunteer. Maybe we can make a few connections between now & then.[/quote]



Andrew,



Came this close to me and didn't stop by, State Road is just about 20 miles from the house, Wilkesboro about 45. Didn't know they were still doing a Fire parade. When you guys want to come up on the Mountain to do Alleghany County NC, let me know and I'll try to line something up. (5 VFD in CO, plus some nut with old Dodge rigs) In October several of the small towns around here do Fire Prevention parades at night. (Hillsville, Galax, Independence, Wytheville VA & Sparta NC for example)



Nollie

[kieferfire]

Andrew,



VERY interesting apparatus photos. Thanks for sharing !



Juergen

[Richard_L_Dean_07405]

[quote name='BFD1151' post='320731' date='Jul 12 2009, 13:24 ']Rich,

It does seem unusual that a fire department would sell fireworks but you also have to understand how things work in TN. Many departments run on very limited budgets so they have to find different ways to raise funds to get the equipment they need. In several rural counties in TN, the county government will give each dept $15-$25,000 then the rest of the funds have to come from somewhere else because there is no fire tax in these communities. It is like the VFDs in these areas are an afterthought for the local government giving them such a small amount of money. This is why you will see lots of second, third or even fourth-hand trucks in eastern TN.[/quote]





Micah, I understand all of that. It's just that fireworks out of the hands of licensed professionals are not safe. Do they do any cow chip bingo? My friends in Georga tell me that's very popular fundraising for many organizations.

[BFD1151]

[quote name='Richard_L_Dean_07405' post='321627' date='Jul 15 2009, 19:44 ']Micah, I understand all of that. It's just that fireworks out of the hands of licensed professionals are not safe. Do they do any cow chip bingo? My friends in Georga tell me that's very popular fundraising for many organizations.[/quote]



Yes, I fully agree with the fact that it is not safe and do not condone it, but the selling of fireworks I'm sure could raise a lot of money for VFDs. I'm not in TN to know all are their fundraising but I'm sure they have BBQ, fish fry and poor boy suppers as well as carnivals and selling fireworks. Not sure about bingo, but any way they can raise funds I'm sure they utilize.

[Guest]

Hey Andrew, were you able to get around to get a picture of the Pierce 4x4 rescue delivered to Ashville?

[Guest]

[quote name='BFD1151' post='321671' date='Jul 15 2009, 20:31 ']Yes, I fully agree with the fact that it is not safe and do not condone it, but the selling of fireworks I'm sure could raise a lot of money for VFDs. I'm not in TN to know all are their fundraising but I'm sure they have BBQ, fish fry and poor boy suppers as well as carnivals and selling fireworks. Not sure about bingo, but any way they can raise funds I'm sure they utilize.[/quote]





Call me silly, but what is a poor boy supper?



On another note, I don't think fireworks should be legal at all, anywhere. The ingredients, and nature of fireworks makes the extremely dangerous to the over zealous American (whom I love, and have nothing against), and to anyone untrained in their use at all. The last thing I think someone needs to buy is an explosive. But that's just me!

[BFD1151]

Sorry for getting off topic, but I will answer Kyle's question on here in case anyone else wanted to know. Poor Boy suppers are kind of a southern thing consisting of soup beans (pinto beans with ham or streaked meat/fatback for flavoring cooked in a crock pot), cornbread, and fried potatoes. It is called a poor boy supper because this was what many people ate during the great depression in the south, particularly in the Appalachian Mtn region.



Back to the apparatus question, Andrew will have to answer for sure about Asheville's "new" rescue, but it was rumored the engine blew after being in-service for 2 weeks and it had to go out for repairs. Don't know if there is any truth to that, but it would be a good explanation because Asheville is not that big and it is nowhere to be found at the shops or at one of their 12 stations.

[Andrew2340]

Newmansville, TN "Engine 1502"



1991 E\-One Protector/2008 FireHouse 66 refurb

1250/1250

SO # 8740

X: Dauphin Middle Paxton Twp FC #1, PA (Dauphin County) "Engine 38"



Andrew Messer Photo (2009)



   

[Andrew2340]

Newmansville, TN "Engine 1501"



1986 Mack MC686FC/E-One

1500/750

Cha. # 1225

SO # 4579

X: ???



Andrew Messer Photo (2009)



   

[Andrew2340]

Sullivan West, TN "Engine 6"



2004 IHC 7400/Pierce (Surprisingly not a Hawk)

1000/1000

Job # 14907



Andrew Messer Photo (2009)



   

[Andrew2340]

Sullivan West, TN "Engine 7"



2000 Kenworth T-300/Pierce

1250/1000

Job # 11554



Andrew Messer Photo (2009)



   

[Andrew2340]

Surgoinsville, TN "Engine 2101"



1942 Chevrolet/Oren

500/0

S/N # 356

X: Holston Army Ammo Depot of Kingsport, TN



Andrew Messer Photo (2009)



   

[Andrew2340]

Stanley Valley, TN "1901"



1980 GMC/E-One/1983 Saulsbury

1000FM/250SM/250

SO # ????

S/N # ?????

X: Coudersport, PA "Engine 48-3"



Andrew Messer Photo (2009)



   

[Andrew2340]

Stanley Valley, TN "1905"



1972 Mack CF685F/1982 Greenwood refurb

1250/500

Cha. # 1488

X: Duxbury, MA



Andrew Messer Photo (2009)



   

[Andrew2340]

Stanley Valley, TN "1902"



1983 Ford F-800/American Fire Apparatus/Sutphen

1000/1000

S/N # F11086FT

X: Union Twp, OH

X: South Lebanon, OH "Engine 46-2"



Andrew Messer Photo (2009)



   

[Andrew2340]

Asheville, NC "Engine 15"



1988 Ford C/E-One

1250/750

SO # 5822



Andrew Messer Photo (2009)



   

[Andrew2340]

Asheville, NC "Engine 7"



2009 Pierce Arrow XT

1500/1000

Job # 21886



Andrew Messer Photo (2009)



   

[Andrew2340]

Columbus, NC "Tanker 2"



2008 IHC 7600/Pierce

1500/2500/40A/40B

Job # 20326

"B.A.R.T." (If you don't know what that stands for, I'm NOT explaining...)



Andrew Messer Photo (2009)



   

[Andrew2340]

Columbus, NC "Engine 3"



1992 GMC TopKick/EEI

1000/1000

S/N # 8658



Andrew Messer Photo (2009)