On Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014 we learned by the power of social media that our 1985 Ford C-8000 Bruco Rescue truck was destroyed in a fire which occurred at the Vale Fire Department in Carroll County, Tennessee.

From the news reports we have seen, the blaze consumed the entire fire station and all of the equipment inside.

The 1985 vehicle served our Company and community well up until 2005 when it was sent to Tennessee. This piece of apparatus had several significant historic milestones in fire apparatus manufacturing and our own Company's history.

This was the first new piece of apparatus to be ordered with our now familiar white over blue color scheme and was the first "canopy cab" owned by Westwood. It was said that this was the last complete unit built by the Bruco Body Company, which went into the rebuild business only.

Originally ordered as just a pumper truck with a 1,000 gallon per minute pump and a 750 gallon water tank, this unit was converted into a Pumper/Rescue unit in 1990 when we officially began providing rescue services to meet the growing needs of the community.

Both this vehicle and our previous Engine 44-6 were both sent to Tennessee when we received a Federal Grant in 2004 to purchase what is now our new Rescue 44, a 2006 Pierce Dash Pumper/Rescue.

Carroll County, Tennessee has a population of just 28,522 and spans 600 square miles. This is an extremely rural area (for comparison, Chester County has a population of 498,886 over 760 square miles). The median household income in Carroll County is $30,463; less than half that of Chester County's $65,295.

It is reported that the Vale Fire Department was unable to purchase insurance on their building. Fortunately, it appears that neighboring communities are already stepping up to assist. We have also begun to reach out to Vale.

The fire is currently being considered suspicious and is the second fire station to burn in Carroll County in the past 45 days.

Our thoughts are with the Vale community during this difficult time.