MCVFD News

Historic Fire Truck Reunited with Original Department after 20 Years

Whitwell, TN - The Mullins Cove Volunteer Fire Department is preparing to retire its front line fire truck, a 1984 Maxim S Model, and reunite her with her original fire department, the Canterbury Volunteer Fire Department, Canterbury Ct,

For the last 15 years, the 1984 Maxim, affectionately named “The Beast”, faithfully served the Mullins Cove and River Canyon Rd community.  Canterbury VFD had been tirelessly searching for their cherished Maxim for several years, even resorting to posting on social media.  Their efforts were rewarded when former Mullins Cove chief Vincent Vella responded to a post, confirming the truck’s whereabouts. O’Neil then reached out to Dale Taylor, the department's current chief, to confirm The Beast was indeed their beloved Maxim.

Originally purchased new and custom ordered by retired Canterbury VFD Chief Kyle McCarthy in 1984, The Beast was the last S model off the Maxim production line that year.  It served the Canterbury community until 2002 when it was replaced with a new truck and eventually sold in 2004.  The fire truck found its way to the MCVFD in 2008, where it has proudly served the community since.

The Beast has supported the Mullins Cove and River Canyon Communities on all fire calls since 2008. During her time with Canterbury VFD, she responded to historic fires, such as the Lawton House Mill Fire.   After the September 11th attacks, The Beast traveled to New York City to provide support for the NYC fire departments and also aided in battling small fires at Ground Zero during the cleanup effort.

Canterbury VFD is overjoyed to welcome The Beast back to its original home, where it will be restored and serve as a museum piece.  The department hopes to have it restored for the Celebration of Maxim, 120 Years of Maxim and represent Maxim Fire Trucks as the floor piece for the event.  “With this being the department's 75th Anniversary, it’s exciting to bring this piece of history home to Canterbury Volunteer Fire Department and the Town of Canterbury”, expressed Deputy Chief O’Neil.

Mullins Cove VFD will celebrate the retirement of The Beast and her trip home with an Honor Parade starting at 8:15am EST, leaving the Mullins Cove VFD Fire Department and traveling down Mullins Cove and River Canyon Roads.  She will be escorted by the Marion County Sheriff’s Department along with the department's current apparatus.  

The parade will conclude at the Tractor Supply parking lot, located at 684 Signal Mountain Road, Chattanooga, at 9:00am EST, where Canterbury’s Deputy Chief O’Neil and former Chief McCarthy will be reunited with their treasured Maxim and prepare her for her trip back to Connecticut.

We are thankful to have received a grant of equipment from the Tennessee Division of Forestry that included Wildland Firefighting gear and 2 backpack blowers.  

Our Volunteer Firefighters recently completed S-190 Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior and the online portion of S-130 Firefighter Training, in order to attend field training to complete the course and earn a NWCG Certificate of Completion. 

The new equipment along with the comprehensive training allows MCVFD to be prepared to deal with Wildland and brush fires and protect our neighbors.