Back on Page 6 of this Virginia thread, I posted a photograph from my collection of an unusual 1968 Mack F/Van Buren/1999 Northeast squad that once ran from Pennington Gap, Virginia. Pennington Gap had received this Mack in approximately 1999, where it previously ran from East Meadows, NY.
I was disappointed when I visited Pennington Gap back in July because I was hoping to find the Mack. I was told it had been recently replaced by a 1999 International/R.D. Murry squad, which is also posted on page 6.
What I was not told was that the Mack is sitting at an truck/auto repair facility in Pennington Gap. The Mack sits with several other old and destroyed fire trucks, which I will post later in the "Relics" thread found on firepics. Pennington Gap also has their old tanker truck ((1976 International/TASC - also posted previously) sitting in this lot. The FD recently placed into service a new International/4-Guys tanker, which I have not photographed yet. I hope the TASC does not stay out there long.
Well, I came across this truck/auto repair business while heading between meetings, so I did not have the opportunity to stay there long.
Here is the old Pennington Gap squad - hope it finds a home.
After a long week of business meetings, I was ready to head home and faced about a 7 hour drive. Well, it looks like my arrival time back home was going to be a bit delayed.
This is why I really enjoy FD's in the southwest part of Virginia and why I love this hobby. While traveling some unknown back roads attempting to get to either Interstate 81 or Interstate 77, I came across the Russell Prater Volunteer FD in Buchan County. This station is interesting......it is in a mountainous area which provides some real challenges for the FD. Trust me....it provided me some real challenges getting level photographs. I ended up having to stand in the back of a pick up truck to get some level photographs. If one of the members at the station not had that pick up truck, you would have seen more photographs of the underneath of trucks.
On a personal note - this FD really impressed me. These guys have no money, have an assortment of hand me down fire trucks, and basically have used band aides to keep them running. Each truck is "adopted" by a member and their job is to keep it going. They are in desperate need of some new used trucks and are hoping that a FD will be able to donate a truck to them. I am currently working on trying to find them a used truck, along with another fellow member of firepics. If your station happens to have an engine or engine - tanker that is willing to donate, please contact me at mnsand@comcast.net.
Unit 151 is a 1977 Mack CF600 with a 1000/500. It has serial number 1877. The Mack previously ran from Norton, Virginia (I have posted Norton's current apparatus elsewhere in this thread).
I forgot to mention.....another challenge for the Russell Prater VFD is that none of their trucks can draft from a pond, stream, etc. Must be challenging when fire hydrants are basically not available.
old Unit 151 is a 1958 Ford F350/Oren 250/250 with Oren serial number 250B 1615. Not really sure about the history of this truck and if/if not the FD purchased it new.
It is basically kept as an antique piece but could be placed into service if needed.
Unit 153 from Russell Prater was purchased from Slagle's used fire trucks in South Boston, Virginia. I have not had the time to dig into where this truck came from. Curious if anyone has serial number data from FMC which could tell me where this once served.
You do what you need to in order to get the job done.
Russell Prater members once had a tanker that eventually had to be replaced. With limited funds, the members built their own tanker by modifying a tractor trailer front end with a tank from an old milk truck. Here is what you get...
Unit 159
1987 Ford L9000/2000 Local
2500 gallons of water
the Ford L is an old "Overnight" tractor trailer front end
The last truck on the apparatus roster at Russell Prater is an old bread truck that was donated to the FD. During 2007, members have been preparing the truck to be equipped as a HAZMAT unit. At this time, it has not been assigned a "Unit" number since it is not yet in service.
Interesting paint job, which I believe was donated.
Let's wrap up Russell Prater with a couple of station shots.
When the highway was being built, I was told FD members asked the construction company to "blast out" a part of the mountain so that a station could be built by the main road. That was done. The rear and sides of the station is literally surrounded by a curtain of rock and trees. It is really interesting to see, and I hope that these next two photos give you a glimpse of the mountain behind the station.
These photos had to be taken in the back of the pick up....in fact, I could have used something higher to get a better photo.
Truck 8 at Wytheville is another ALF and I was told it was one of the later units to be produced at American LaFrance's old Bluefield plant, not to far from Wytheville. Truck 8 serves dual roles - engine and ladder for the FD.
Wytheville, VA
Wythe County
Truck 8
1991 ALF Century
1500/500
75'TS
serial # - 2101 (does that sound right for a ALF serial number?)
this is actually a kind of rare rig. It was built during the "second" incarnation of ALF, from 1986-1994, when they were building the Century 2000's. They must have wanted a matching cab to their pumper, so they got it.(either that or it was wrecked and rebuilt) there are only a few "C2000's" with Century cabs out there, Clifton, NJ has one as does West Mead, PA, and maybe one in Connecticut. those are the only ones I know about.
I will wrap up this Virginia trip with one of the most unusual trucks I have photographed. Have I mentioned that I really love visiting southwest Virginia departments?
Let me set the stage on this....
After visiting Russell Prater and getting back on the road for several hours, I managed to make my way back to Interstate 77 so that I could begin my trip back north.
I77 has two tunnels. The "East River Mountain Tunnel" was completed in 1974 and is the border line between West Virginia and Virginia. After going through this tunnel and traveling about 10 miles, you come to the "Big Walker Mountain Tunnel". This area is Bland County, Virginia. One of Bland's claim to fame is that it is the only county in the United States that is entered and exited via an Interstate Tunnel. Their slogan is "Light at the end of the tunnel".
When heading south on I77 and just prior to entering the Big Walker Mountain Tunnel, there is an exit for Bland. I have never been to Bland before but I recalled reading about a Bland County FD that had received an unusual fire truck.
It was starting to get to mid afternoon, and with daylight savings time, the sun was starting to get pretty low. It was a good place to gas up and get a bite to eat, and find the FD. Priorities first - the fire station. I found the FD but it was locked up tight and I could not see inside the station. I have mentioned several times that one of the best places to find a FD contact is at a local garage. In this case, not far down the street was an auto parts store. I asked a guy about finding a member of the fire department, and he just happened to be a member. How about that?
It was funny because he asked me if I was here to see "24". I told him I was not sure, but it sounded interesting. He told me I would not be disappointed. The only problem was finding a driver. After several phone contacts he made, I was told a driver would be here in about 30 minutes. Not good news with the sun setting.
The driver arrived and the first thing he told me was that I would not be disappointed in "24". I was not. This was one of the tallest trucks I have seen and photographed.
The fire department obtained this truck for two primary reasons - the tunnels and the amount of wooded area. Bland County's total area is 78% wooded, and 32% of the mountain portions are in the Jefferson National Forest. Between the tunnels and the woods, the FD has some unique challenges.
As a result, the FD purchased this truck through a federal grant. It is designed to fight fire's in both the tunnels and the mountains.
When I asked what the radio designation was of this truck, the FD has none. Everything goes by just the unit number. Now I knew why folks were referring to this as "24"
Bland, Virginia
Bland County
"24"
2005 Oshkosh/Pierce Hawk Extreme
500/2500/50
Height - 10", 2"
Length - 34', 1"
Weight - 56,000
pump controls are located on the officers side as well as from the cab
With the previous photos, I think I found the only parking lot with some sun light available.
Last photo.....Bland station. Along with "24" the FD runs a Pierce engine, Pierce tanker, and an old brush truck. I was not able to photograph them based on available light and now I was really going to be late getting home. Well worth the visit.
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