By

Shaun Ryan

The Storey County Fire Department has a long and interesting history that dates back to 1860 with its founding as a partially staffed entity in Virginia City. In 2010 it operated from five stations with a paid staff of 28 persons supplemented by volunteer firefighters. Its budget was $4 million. The Storey County FD provides all risk responses for fire protection and emergency medical services to the smallest county in Nevada (262 square miles) with a population of about 40,000 people. Fire protection challenges are varied and include the old, congested wooden structures of Virginia City, the newer single-family rural/suburban homes in Virginia Highlands, the heavy traffic volumes on Interstate Route 80 near Lockwood and extensive, rugged wildland areas. The department’s challenges will be increased when the new Storey County Tahoe Regional Industrial Park is completed. It will be the largest in the continental US.

The expansion of the current Storey County Fire Department can be traced to 1974 when a new fire district was formulated by the Clarke McNairy Act. This district was given fire protection responsibility for all areas outside of Virginia City and Gold Hill. Between 1974 and 1999 three volunteer fire departments were formed in this district: the Virginia Highlands VFD, the Largomarsino VFD in Lockwood and the Six Mile Canyon VFD near Mark Twain. Paid staffing at the Virginia Highlands and Largomarsino stations began in the mid-1980s with Nevada Division of Forestry (NDF) personnel. In 1999 the Storey County Fire Commissioners decided to make the district responsible for wildland fires as it was administered by NDF. They also expanded the responsibilities of the Storey County Fire Department as an all risk agency beyond Virginia City and Gold Hill to a county wide service. This expansion included transitioning support and services for the three volunteer departments. In 2001-2002 the personnel transferred from NDF to the Storey County FD. In 2005 the volunteer fire departments were consolidated as the Storey County Volunteer Fire Department.

In order to address its fire protection challenges, the Storey County Fire Department has acquired a unique and very colorful fleet of fire apparatus. At the Virginia City Headquarters station, Engine 1 is a 1991 Spartan CS40M-2044/1992 Hi-Tech pumper. This unit has a 1500 gpm pump and a 750-gallon water tank. It is equipped with a Rockwood Foam system and carries 60 gallons of Class A foam. This unit is powered by a 450 horsepower 8V92TA Detroit Diesel and has an Allison HTB-741 automatic transmission. It carries Hi-Tech serial number: 91372.

Engine 2 operates out of the Virginia Highlands station. This unit was a NDF pumper acquired by Storey County from that state agency in 2002. It is a 1996 HME 1871/Central States unit equipped with a KK Products foam system. The unit has a 1500 gpm pump and a 1000-gallon water tank. It carries 20 gallons of Class A and 20 gallons of Class B foam. The unit is powered by an M-10 Cummins diesel delivering 400 horsepower and has an Allison automatic transmission. The Central States serial number is: 1143496

Station 3 is the The Six Mile Canyon facility near Mark Twain, Nevada. Engine 3, the oldest of the Type I pumpers in service, is a 1976 Mack MB600 with a 1977 Howe body. This unit has a 1250 gpm Waterous CMUYR pump and a 300 gpm Waterous CPR1 auxiliary pump. It carries 750 gallons of water and has no separate on-board foam capacity. Engine 3 carries Mack serial number MB685FC-1140. Its Howe model designation is FC-12 (“Fire Cat with a 1250gpm pump capacity) and the Howe serial number is 14958.

Station 4 in Lockwood is equipped with another former NDF pumper acquired in mid-2002. It is a 1996 HME 1871/Central States/KK Products unit with a 1500 gpm pump and a 1000-gallon water tank. It has two foam cells; one carries 20-gallons of Class A and the other 20-gallons of Class B foam. This unit is powered by a Cummins M-10 diesel producing 400 horsepower and has an Allison automatic transmission. The Central States serial number is: 143398. Engine 4 is identical to Engine 2; the units were constructed at the same time with identical specifications.

There is no aerial per se in the Storey County FD, but a 1982 Pemfab/Emergency-1 telesqurt operates as Truck 1 from the Virginia City Headquarters station. This unit was purchased used from a small volunteer fire department outside of Philadelphia, PA. It is equipped with a 55’ telesqurt, a 1500 gpm Hale QSMF150 pump and a 300-gallon water tank. This unit carries E-1 serial: E-1-2727

The Storey County FD has two squads in service. Squad 1 is a 2003 Pierce Saber heavy squad. It was a Pierce demonstrator unit and was acquired in 2004 using Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency grant money. Squad 1 is stationed at Headquarters in Virginia City and serves as the department’s heavy rescue and hazardous materials unit. It is powered by a Cummins ISC 350 horsepower diesel motor and has a 3000 EVS Allison automatic transmission. The second squad is Squad 3 and is quartered in Mark Twain. This unit is a 1987 Ford F268 all-wheel drive vehicle with a Jordan’s Thermo King body. It was converted by the members of the Storey County FD to a light rescue equipped with a Hurst tool and a Honda generator for power supply and lighting.

In 2002 Storey County purchased four International 4800/Pierce Type II all-wheel drive pumpers. One of these units is assigned to each of the four stations. They are equipped with 1250 gpm pumps and also have 300 gpm auxiliary pumps. Each unit has a 500-gallon water tank and a 20-gallon foam tank. The foam systems were built by Hypro Foam. These pumpers are powered by International DT530E diesel motors delivering 330 horsepower. Each unit has an Allison MD-3060PR automatic transmission. The units are designated as Brush 1 through Brush 4 and carry Pierce serials numbers 13498-01 through 13498-04. These four units were lease/purchased over a 10 year contract with revenues specific from Waste Management franchise tonnage fees at the land fill operation in Storey County. There were no tax dollars involved in using this method of acquisition.

Because of the large and rugged wildland area that the Storey County FD has to protect, it deploys a variety of units in addition to the four International 4800/Pierce Type II engines described above. Patrol 1 at Headquarters is a 1989 GMC 3500 with a local build out. It was originally a Nevada Department of Transportation (DOT) vehicle, but was acquired by the Virginia City VFD in about 1998. Patrol 1 carries 250 gallons of water and has a Briggs and Stratton pump that can deliver about 125 gpm. Patrol 2 is located in Virginia City Highlands and is a 1995 Chevrolet 2500 with a Stahl Body. This unit is equipped with a small Hale pump delivering about 35 gpm and carries 200 gallons of water. Patrol 3 at the Mark Twain station is a 1990 Chevrolet 2500 with a local build out. It has a 250 gpm pump and carries 250 gallons of water. Patrol 4 is a 1994 Ford F350 that was received from Southwest Gas as a donation. It carries a 250 gallon tank with a 125 gpm pump and has a Stahl utility body.

Storey County has four water tenders dispersed among its four stations. Water Tender 1 at Virginia City is a 1980 Mack RS685 that was converted by Burton’s Fire Apparatus in 2004 to a water tender. This unit has a 500 gpm Hale pump and a 3200-gallon water tank. It has Mack serial number RS685LST-55269. Water Tender 2 at the Virginia Highlands station is a 1980 International F-2574 that was a Nevada DOT snowplow until acquired surplus by the Storey County FD in 2002. It was converted by Burton’s Fire Apparatus in 2002. This unit has a 500 gpm Hale pump and carries 2800 gallons of water. At Station 3 near Mark Twain, Water Tender 3 is a 1972 International 2050A with a local tank assembly. This unit has a 250 gpm Hale pump and carries 2200 gallons of water. The fourth water tender is located at the Lockwood station and is a 1980 Mack RS685 that was acquired in the late 1990’s converted by Burton’s Fire Apparatus in 2000. It has a Hale CBP4 1250 gpm pump and carries 2700 gallons of water. The Mack serial number is: RS685LST-55280.

There are several pieces of apparatus that are “second out” units in the Storey County FD. They include Brush 11, a 1977 International 1700/B&Z Type III brush unit that had been acquired from the California Department of Forestry and Fire (CDF). This unit served as Brush 1 until replaced by one of the new International/Pierce Type II units. It is equipped with a 350 gpm pump and carries 500 gallons of water. This unit is a CDF Model 10 and carries the B&Z serial of C-10-022. It is housed at Station 3 in Mark Twain. Another “second out” brush unit is housed at Station 1 in Virginia City. It is a 1970 International 1600/Douglass Body Company unit. This unit has a 250 gpm pump and carries 300 gallons of water. It was purchased new in 1970 by the Storey County Fire Department for Virginia City. In later years it was moved to the Virginia Highlands VFD and the Largomarsino VFD stations as their volunteer departments started out. A spare water tender is also in the Storey County FD inventory. It is a 1968 Kaiser M35A2 W/OW military all-wheel drive truck that was converted to a water tender. It has a 50 gpm Briggs and Stratton pump powered by a Honda motor and carries 1200 gallons of water.

NDF supplements fire protection in Storey County with two Type III brush engines; one Type VI brush/patrol unit and one water tender. These NDF units are located at the Virginia City, Virginia City Highlands, the Six Mile and Lockwood stations.

In late January 2010 the Station 5 in the Tahoe Regional Industrial Park was scheduled to be closed due to budget cuts. Because of budget problems six full-time staff cuts were recommended along with the deletion of 12 reserve firefighter positions.

Great appreciation is extended to Chief Gary Hames, Administrative Assistant Cheri Nevin and the men and women of
the Storey County FD for their support in the preparation of this article.