Wednesday, August 2, when bedtime seemed the only item on the to-do-list left for the day, Enon Volunteers (Chesterfield County) were called to shift into high gear.
"It started around 0900 hours," said Enon District Chief Bruce Vecchioni. "Enon Engine # 6 was dispatched to City of Hopewell to provide coverage at Hopewell Station #1 while they battled a warehouse fire. Instead we got dispatched to assist at the fire and our second due engine # 206 also was sent to the fire. River’s Bend Engine #18 (Chesterfield) performed the station coverage."
Enon assisted Hopewell firefighters from around 0900 hours to 2400 hours, Vecchioni continued, then were released from the scene and they began to head back to quarters.
But the hard working fire crews weren't destined to get home yet.
A call came in for a tractor-trailer overturned on I-295 in Prince George County (Va), Vecchioni explained, "and our crews were dispatched as mutual aid. It was a tractor trailor hauling trash and when it turned over with its load spilled into the median. The driver was Med-Flighted to VCU Medical Center. Prince George firefighters established the landing zone. The road was temporally shut down for Virginia State Police EMS Med-Flight 1, to land and pick up the patient. After the pick up we were released again," Vecchioni said.
Almost immediately after the accident call, Enon crews were again dispatched, this time to a house fire at 13800 Silverdust Lane for a house fully involved with fire. The house was brand new, Vecchioni said, and unoccupied.
The crews went from the house fire to Point of Rocks Park where the trash cans in the bathrooms were on fire.
Next call was a piece of heavy equipment, a backhoe, on fire.
It was EMS calls then, Vecchioni remarked, until 0900 hours, when the calls seemed to just stop.
It was a marathon night for the volunteer crews, but valiantly they tackled the tasks in front of them.
