Did you keep track of the first dollar you ever made? Or, do you remember the first transaction in your business that created revenue? At Brindlee Mountain, the first transaction has a story.

What started it all.

Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus was birthed out of one bad customer service experience. When they were purchasing a used fire truck, they did not have a great experience with the business they dealt with... You can reach the full history of Brindlee’s founding story HERE - (link to the history page)

Being a key player in this event, James Wessel, had first-hand knowledge of the situation. 

After months there was a resolution for the fire department, but James was determined this should never happen again. This became the catalyst for starting a new, used fire truck dealership. James desired to give Fire Departments an option where they could shop and buy an apparatus from a dealer with transparency, who operated on the principles of integrity, gratitude, service, and excellence.

A business was born, and James started the process of locating a used fire truck, in a condition he felt comfortable with, that he could try to sell to another Volunteer Fire Department in North Alabama.

The first purchase.

The search for the first truck led James to begin talks with E-One Emergency Vehicles. As a new fire apparatus manufacturer, they would occasionally take trucks in on trade for a new vehicle.

In July 2001, the first truck purchased by Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus was a 1982 E-One C-8000 pumper.

This unit had the specifications that many fire departments desired as it had a 750-gallon water tank and a 1250 GPM water pump.

Not only that, but the C-8000 engine was reliable and one that was used in many other vehicle types, therefore easily serviced and repaired. Produced for 33 years nearly unchanged, the C-series was the longest-produced commercial truck in North America at the time of its withdrawal from production.

The C-8000 fought lots of fire in America for decades. This custom-built chassis was a standard in the industry and continued to be manufactured up until the 1990s. A local volunteer firefighter and EVT technician stated many of these units are still in service today.

An early sale.

The purchase of the fire truck was one step toward a successful business launch.  But now it was time to locate a department needing the E-One Pumper to meet their changing service demands.

James set out to find that department in need as the only employee and one whose success was riding on his own initiative. And in an age before the total reliability of internet searches, he started with a phone and phone book.  

After multiple calls, he began a conversation with Spring Garden Volunteer Fire Department in Alabama. Then on December 1, 2001, Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus sold truck #01001.

A friend of James and a future employee of Brindlee Mountain, Tim White, made the delivery of the unit to the department. A few years later, the truck would return.

The truck returns.

From 2001 to the late 2010s, the 1982 E-One Pumper served the community of Spring Garden. Then it came time for the department to upgrade and surplus the apparatus, so they reached out to the original supplier.

Of course, Brindlee Mountain and especially James would want the first truck back on campus. With the deal made, the apparatus was on its way back. The journey this time would also involve Tim White, but now, as an employee.

Back in service.

The return to campus was short-lived. Soon after its arrival, it was put back into service, being leased to another local department Ruth Volunteer Fire Department of Alabama. This lease arrangement was for one year, and during that time, it served well.

A return to the mountain.

After the one-year lease, the first Brindlee sale was brought back to the mountain and parked in a secure location. There it sat for a few years, until...

New life for a reliable vehicle.

A partner with Brindlee Mountain, Jasper Highlands Volunteer Fire Department, needed an additional apparatus to support their community.  Could ‘the first’ meet those needs and go back into service?

Would it start, what repairs and updates would be needed?

The technicians charged with determining the answers to those questions took some fresh batteries to the truck location, installed them, hit the start button, and it started.

In 2021, the technicians on the mountain being to make the necessary repairs and updates so that truck #01001 could return to service.  

Celebrating 20 Years

On July 22, 2021, Brindlee Mountain celebrated 20 years of being in business, 20 years since this first truck was delivered to Alabama.  As a part of that celebration, our team made some final upgrades and put truck #01001 on display. Its presence at this celebration became a focal point and a great reminder of God’s faithfulness through 20 years of business success.

On to the Next Mountain

Soon truck #01001 will be put back in service on another mountain near Jasper, Tennessee. 

The team at Brindlee is making some final upgrades, bringing it up to required service standards but also as close to the original condition as possible, making sure it will be ready for service when the alarm sounds.

No one knows how long the 1982 E-One C-8000 pumper will serve the community of Jasper Highlands but a few things are sure:

It was the beginning of what has multiplied into thousands of used truck sales.

The apparatus has served and will continue to serve as designed.

It will always have a place to retire, on Brindlee Mountain.