Outer Banks, North Carolina - Department profiles

[mnsand]

This past week I had the opportunity to see this ambulance responding on the beach to an EMS incident.



Ambulance 685 is a 1996 Ford F/Wheeled Coach Moduvan.



I photographed this ambulance back in 1997.





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

Also photographed in 1997 is Corolla's 1993 Ford E350/Wheeled Coach.



Corolla has a newer ambulance (which I believe is also a Ford E) which I have not seen yet.



That wraps up Corolla. Next stop is Carova Beach, located north of Corolla, and our final Currituck County FD. Oh, by the way, there are no roads in Carova Beach....just sand, and lots of it.





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[Guest]

Very good thread! Since you are done with Corolla, I'll add a few here before you start the next department. These are from earlier this year and was my first time down there, it really is a nice area.



First a pic of a Corolla Rescue lifeguard pickup.

[Guest]

Corolla Fire Rescue Special Ops/Command unit 680

[Guest]

Corolla Rescue 681

[Guest]

A shot of Corolla Engine 638 in quarters. That's my last one from Corolla. Again, nice thread Mike.



Scott

[mnsand]

[quote name='JScott128' post='30285' date='Sep 4 2006, 21:54 ']A shot of Corolla Engine 638 in quarters. That's my last one from Corolla. Again, nice thread Mike.



Scott[/quote]





Scott,



Thank you for the Corolla contributions. I guess you noticed the new unmarked Ford F sitting in the Corolla parking lot. It was there last week. I am curious to what they will be adding to the roster.



Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[Guest]

Mike-



I was down there in June and saw that Ford in the lot with no body. I guess there hasn't been much progress on it this summer. I was curious about that truck as well.



Scott

[njjimmy]

Really interesting thread! I like the Corolla Fire & Rescue rigs and the Kitty Hawk aerial.

[mnsand]

Wrapping up Currituck County stations this evening with apparatus from Carova Beach.



This is probably one of the most beautiful beach towns I have ever visited. It is located about 8 miles north of Corolla and is only a couple of miles from the Virginia border. However, there is no road from Virginia to Carova Beach.



Route 12 is the beach - yes, the main road is the beach. So you have to dodge beach goers, waves, stumps, washed up sea turtles, tide pools, and even horses. Carova Beach is home to about 70 wild horses and roam the town and leave their droppings in all kind of unique areas.



You must have a 4wd vehicle to drive. They say the richest man in town at Carova Beach is the tow truck guy who gets to pull out all of the tourists who think their 2wd little car can handle the sand.



There are very few paved areas in Carova Beach. The only two that I saw was part of the FD apron and a helipad located next to the apron. I had to laugh when I saw horse droppings directly in the middle of the helipad landing zone. All other roads are sand roads.



Obviously, the Carova Beach apparatus have to be equipped to handle driving in sand - and sometimes quite deep.



First up is Engine 739, a 1992 International 4800 4x4/Boardman 1000/1000. Boardman serial number F2885.





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

Engine 735 from Carova Beach is an interesting 1986 International S1800 4x4/Grumman with a top mount 1000gpm and 1000 gallon water tank. Grumman serial number 17498.





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

Two similar Ford brush trucks are on the Carova Beach roster.



Brush 743 is a 1990 Ford F250 outfitted by the FD. It carries 300 gallons of water.



Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

Brush 744 is a 1995 Ford F350 also equipped by the FD. It is a four door Ford with a 250/300/5.





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

The Corolla VFD and Carova Beach VFD work together to provide EMS service to Carova Beach.



This 1994 Ford F350/Wheeled Coach ambo is marked for both departments.



Do the tires look flat? With these driving conditions, lower air pressure is necessary to help some of the apparatus get around in the sand.





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

In the ambulance photo above, are you seeing double with the Fire Department sign?



I thought it was a unique idea - the letters are cut out completely. This area gets a lot of high winds - the FD made the station sign that way so that it would not be damaged by the winds. When I took the photos of the apparatus the sun was in a position to show the reflection.



So, there is your fire department sign factoid for the day.





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

Here is a station shot of Carova Beach.





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

Last photo from Carova Beach.



I found this interesting.....if you are directionally challenged, this area is going to give you a headache. Since there are no paved roads, I don't recall a lot of street signs. You tend to concentrate on not getting stuck rather than looking for the limited street signs that there are.



If someone comes to the station to report a 911 emergency, the members at Carova Beach have provided them a guide to help them get to the emergency scene. I suspect that the FD has had problems in the past getting accurate directions from a 911 caller.





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[mnsand]

I would say that I am about a third of the way done with the Outer Banks profile. I hope everyone has enjoyed the station info and apparatus.



Where do we go from here? The next departments will be the Dare County stations. Dare County is divided into North and South. The North stations are closer to Currituck County. You might recognize names like Duck, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, and Nags Head. I will cover those departments next.



The South Stations in Dare County are a bit different. These areas are not as built up and some are fishing communities. The beaches in these areas are more undeveloped and natural. Some of the FD's are Buxton (home of the famous Cape Hatteras lighthouse), Frisco, and Hatteras Island. Some very unique fire trucks at these stations.



I will continue the profiles as time permits. Thanks for your patience.





Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[fl ron]

[

I will continue the profiles as time permits. Thanks for your patience.

Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA

[/quote]





And thank you for these great photos.



Ron

[kieferfire]

Absolutely great topic. Thank you very much for the geographic infos and the photos. Very interesting.



Juergen