Displayed for the first time at the ODHFS Annual Meeting (2000) was a recently acquired type of fire apparatus that most of us have never seen before!

The rig is a 1972, Fire Boss, trailer type, dry chemical firefighting unit. These rigs were designed specifically for fighting class B fires in an industrial application. Manufactured by the Fire Boss Corp. in Fort Worth, Texas, located in the heart of the petroleum industry, they were primarily used for refinery fire protection. The U.S. military also used quite a few of these units and many were deployed overseas. They were available in either a skid mount or a trailer configuration.

Our unit is a model D 25 and carries Serial # 138. The sphere contains 2,500 pounds of dry chemical and is capable of discharging 50 lbs. per second through the top mounted turret at distances of up to 160 feet, or 16 lbs. per second through each of two hose reels.

This is the only unit of its type that I personally have ever seen outside of the military. We intend to restore the unit to its like new appearance and display it along with the National Foam pumper as an example of the industrial fire brigade sector. It is especially important due to the fact that it served its entire service life right here in Virginia and maybe the only Fire Boss to have served in Virginia. Does anyone know of other examples of this type of rig that exist in Virginia? If so, we would like to know about it. E-mail Tommy Herman with information. 

Our thanks to Chief Dickie Burroughs of the Amoco BP Yorktown Refinery for his diligence in securing the donation of this equipment to the ODHFS so that it can be preserved for our future generations to enjoy.