Brandweerwagendepot Gent
THE ABANDONED FIRE TRUCKS IN BELGIUM
‘Brandweerwagen Depot Gent’ was a shed full of abandoned fire trucks. The depot was owned by the Fire Museum in Aalst. The trucks were moved to another depot in 2020.
The Fire Museum in the Belgium city of Aalst is run by a group of volunteers named ‘The Private Fire Brigade’. The group was founded in 1993 with the aim of restoring vehicles of emergency services for rental, use for demonstrations, participation in publications and other events. In fact, the goal of the non-profit organization was saving end-of-life firefighting vehicles from the scrap heap by restoring and preserving them.
Gradually, an enormous collection of historical fire engines and materials was built up over the years. Eventually, the collection has grown into one of the largest collections of fire brigade heritage in the world. Meanwhile, the restored trucks were displayed in the Fire Museum in Aalst. However, the trucks that haven’t been restored yet, were stored in this depot in Gent.
In 2020 the museum in Aalst was closed. A new museum was not ready yet, so a big move to a temporary storage in Ravels was organized with the name ‘Operation Backdraft Roadmap’. I visited the ‘Brandweerwagendepot Gent’ in 2018. Also check this other fire depot in France here.
