Found Roanoke Fire Trucks

Comments: 0

Today I went out checking out some local junk yards. I had my camera on the second trip but not the first. What I found was interesting. There are several fire trucks her in Roanoke. For the most part they are from other jurisdictions, although some were definitely from right here in Roanoke City.

I saw trucks from North Carolina (C.F.D.) maybe Charlotte?, Henrico, Baltimore County, Newport ?, Asheville, and many others which I cannot remember. I will have to get out and take my picture next time to photograph all of them.


This is Engine 10, an Oren/International Pumper built in June 1961. This truck was R-903 just prior to being decommissioned. There have been 3 Engine 10′s since this one. I will try to get a hold of a picture of this truck when it was in service. Guessing by the fact that it is a regular cab, this truck was used primarily when the Firefighters were riding tailboard, which means that the guys stood on the rear bumper and held on for dear life. Most departments in the U.S. do not allow their Firefighters to do this anymore due to the safety of the Firefighters. The Roanoke Fire-EMS Department does not allow its Firefighters to ride tailboard anymore.

The picture to the right shows what happened to Engine 13 in a rollover accident. As you can see this is the same type of truck as Engine 10 above, although it is an Oren/American LaFrance instead. Luckily in this accident none of the Firefighters were killed.
The picture on the left shows Marvin Coleman who was riding tailboard on Engine 13 when it wrecked. He was thrown from the truck. I am not sure exactly of his injuries, although I do know that he retired in the past couple of years after a long career as a Firefighter.

Ok let me get back on course, after all we were talking about old fire trucks which I found today.
The only other Roanoke City Fire Truck which I saw today was this old Walter’s ARFF Truck. Imagine me finding a darn ARFF truck. Big shock huh. Apparently I am haunted even on my days off. Anyways this thing looks bomb proof. I do have an older picture of this one as I have posted the current next to the older picture. The truck is packed in next to a tractor trailer.

Here is the ARFF truck to the left. I am unsure of when this truck was in service exactly, but I am sure someone out there will fill me in. The picture below shows the Walter’s ARFF truck in action. I will be posting more pictures in the future, as you all know I enjoy bringing these photo’s to you.

Check out the comments below for updates on information.

Speak Your Mind

Tell us what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!