Video of burning Virginia fire truck. More on the loss of Tower 12 from OWL VFD in Prince William County.
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Our regular reader Steve Marshall from Pennsylvania noticed what I overlooked, that there was video of Tower 12 burning on the Prince William Parkway Thursday night. Right after Steve’s message someone sent me the file of the 8-second cell phone video.
I had also previously mentioned the account of the incident and tribute to Tower 12 from OWL’s website (where you will also find pictures). Here it is:
Tower 12 has the last word!!! Tower 12 came into Station 12 in early 1994 replacing Truck 12, a tiller truck known as “The Beast of the East”. Tower 12 went on its first working fire within days of arriving in Woodbridge at Colchester Apartments and was instrumental in numerous rescues that took place that evening. On that particular night, Tower 12 was equipped with a flathead axe, haligan bar and it’s ground ladder compliment. Last night, Tower 12 was heading for the City of Manassas to replace Tower 1 for maintenance purposes. The only equipment on board, an axe, haligan bar and it’s ground ladder compliment. Tower 12 never made it there. As it crossed over Hoadly Road (leaving the east end) Tower 12 caught fire. As you can see from the pictures, the tower appears to be a total loss. The Prince William County Fire Marshal ruled the cause as undetermined with all indications pointing to the engine as a possible cause. Insurance investigators will continue the investigation today. A few quick thoughts: Tower 12 came into the station as our first tower. The emotions in the station varied among seasoned veterans and rookies. The seasoned veterans were sad to see the end of the tiller era at OWL while the new members thought it was “cool” to see this monstrous new rig go into action. Tower 12 quickly became a workhorse and saw its fair share of fire throughout the county. Tower 12 has been seen on house and apartment fires around the county; hotels in Quantico; and mutual aid from Fairfax to Stafford. Tower 12 never shied away from a good job. Tower 12 has hung tough while seeing the blackest of days as well. Technician I Kyle Wilson was riding Tower 12 on April 16, 2007; the morning Kyle lost his life battling a single-family house fire on Marsh Overlook. Tower 12 may have sparred controversy when it arrived, but it quickly brought the generations of OWL together as training progressed and call volumes mounted. After the fatal fire on April 16, 2007, Station 12 career and volunteer personnel united like in “the old days”; camaraderie between the two was achieved once again. As unfortunate as the circumstances were, Tower 12 once again was behind the scenes and was part of something people had not been able to achieve for quite some time. I, for one, will indeed miss the original Tower 12, and as in 1994, I once again have mixed emotions. I am sad to see “her” go as she is being replaced. In some ways Tower 12 seemed to decide when “she” started her service; she also decided when to end it.
