Prior
to the construction of Fire Station 9 all Arlington County Fire Stations
were owned by individual Volunteer Companies. Station 9 was the
first fire station to be constructed and owned by Arlington County.
Station 9 was occupied on August 12, 1957.
The
first units to staff the station were Engine Company 9, a two-piece
(wagon and engine) engine company, Truck 3, a brand new 1957 American
LaFrance 100' tractor drawn aerial and the duty battalion chief.
In 1958 a brand new American LaFrance-GMC pumper was placed in service
as Wagon 9 and the old 1949 International pumper, on loan from the Falls
Church VFD, was returned.
Over the years many things have changed. Sometime after 1960 the
battalion chief was moved to fire station 4 and a foam and air truck
(1947 American LaFrance pumper,
ex- E3) was housed at #9. In the late 70's the foam and
air truck was "scrapped."
During 1986 METRO donated a Ford F700/Steeldraulics "roll-up"
truck, nicknamed "Airwolf", complete with 40 spare Scott
AirPaks and 40 spare air bottles for use in the event of an underground
train fire. The unit was stored at station 9. It is still there
but has been converted into the HazMat Support Unit. The SCBA repair
shop was located at station 9 for years and is now at station 1.
In 1993 the ACFD disbanded the two-piece engine company concept which
had been in use for 40+ years. Station 9 now had Engine
79, a single piece engine company, Truck 79 a 100'
tiller truck and Metro Support Unit 2, better known as"Airwolf".
In 1993 the ACFD created a Hazardous Materials Team which was based
at station 9.
In early 1990 an ALS unit was placed in service at Station
9. In 1996 a heavy rescue squad was placed in service at Station
9. Rescue Squad 79 was "cross-staffed" with members
of Truck 79. The type of call would determine if the Squad
or Truck responded. Finally in 1998 Truck 79 was removed
from service and the Squad (now referred to as "Rescue")
was placed in service with a dedicated crew. The
ACFD went from 5 truck companies two decades ago to 2 ladder trucks
today....even though the amount of highrise buildings more than quadrupled.
In 1998 an E-One 75' Quint replaced the engine.
In the late 1990's the station underwent a complete renovation
which transformed it into a modern fire station with 11 individual
bunkrooms, a female locker/shower facility, a public meeting room
and an office for the police department to use for writing reports,
eating donuts, not cleaning up after themselves and generally messing
up the station. During the two year long renovation the rescue
and medic unit ran from station 1 while the Quint ran out of a "tent"
in the rear parking lot and the crew slept in a double-wide. In
2002 the Southside EMS Captain was stationed at #9. We were quickly
running out of storage space for the apparatus and bunk rooms for the
personnel!
Historic Incidents
August
17, 1957 - Engine Co. 9 and Truck Co.3 along with most of the Arlington
Fire Department responded to the Hollinger Box Factory at 3824 Four
Mile Run Dr., less than a mile from quarters. They arrived to
find the large building fully involved. Units operated for several hours
before the blaze was brought under control. The building was a complete
loss.
July
2, 1959, Engine Co. 9 and Truck Co.3 responded to a 5-alarm
fire at the Pentagon which resulted in 7 million dollars
in damages. Up until the Pentagon attack in 2001 this was the
largest fire loss in Arlington County.
April
6, 1968 --During the 1968 Riots, Washington, DC was the hardest
hit city in the nation with over 470 building fires resulting in 7 civilian
deaths and 149 firefighter injuries. The DCFD requested assistance
from Arlington County and surrounding areas to help with the fires.
ACFD sent Wagon's 2, 9, and 10, Engine's 4 and 10,
Truck 2, Battalion Chief 6 and 7, the Assistant Fire Chief and the fuel
truck to assist the DCFD.
June
6, 1968 --During construction of the Crystal Mall development in
Crystal City there was a major structural collapse which resulted
in 3 deaths and 33 injuries. Engine Company 9 and Truck 3 assisted
in the search and recovery.
March
19, 1973--During construction of several 26 story residential
apartment buildings of the Skyline complex in the Baileys Crossroads
area of Fairfax County (visible from the ramp of Station 9) one
of the buildings, completed to the 24th floor, suddenly collapsed. 14
workers were killed, many buried alive and not recovered for almost
a week. 34 workers were injured. Engine Co. 9,
Truck Co. 3 and the Foam Wagon responded to the incident. Of interest,
the DCFD filled in ACFD Station 4 with Rescue Squad 1 and Ambulance
6.
This photo shows Arlington Firefighters loading one of the many injured
construction workers into Rescue 1. The devastation can be seen in the
background.
January
13, 1982 - Engine 79 and Truck 79 responded to the 14th Street bridge
after Air Florida flight 90, a Boeing 737, struck the bridge and plumetted
into Potomac River. Several people were killed on the bridge as
they sat stuck in traffic during a blizzard which was covering the area
with several inches of snow . Over 80 people were lost on the plane.
The crash was due to ice build-up on the wings.
Some
photos from various websites. Bottom photo shows Truck 79 on the
scene.
