Submitted Photo
Submitted Photo
Submitted Photo
By Aila Boyd
aboyd@mainstreetnewspapers.com
The Blue Ridge Volunteer Fire Department celebrated its 60th anniversary on Saturday by commissioning its new Engine 1 into service.
A push-in ceremony, which allows members of the department to literally push the new engine into the station, was conducted for the new truck as part of the day’s festivities. The apparatus was purchased earlier this year as a replacement for a 20-year-old truck.
“We definitely want to thank the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors for the purchase of our new truck to better serve the Blue Ridge area,” Mike Maddox, chief of the department, said. “The truck is a big improvement from the current truck that we have. A lot of the safety features make firefighters a lot safer.”
Chartered and incorporated in 1959, the department was formed by a group of men who were concerned about the need for a local fire department. “Response times from neighboring fire departments were long and the men knew they needed their own fire department to protect the lives and property of the community,” the department’s website reads.
Despite the conviction of the original 22 charter members, the arrival of an actual fire truck didn’t come until a few years after the department’s incorporation. But between the time of incorporation and the arrival of a used Oren pumper on a 1938 Chevrolet chassis in 1962, the members of the department trained and practiced their firefighting skills by watching training films and visiting neighboring departments.
The arrival of other trucks quickly followed.
An open house was held for members of the community. Demonstrations of some of the machinery that members of the department use were conducted.
