4th Annual Emergency Vehicle Show

Hundreds of people turned out for one of the most unique car shows in Western Washington organized by the Professional Car Society on a perfect sunny day in the Pacific Northwest. Spectators were able to view more than 60 different vehicles that were once dedicated to life safety and emergency scene operations including police cars, fire trucks, tow trucks, search & rescue vehicles, military rigs, and even fully functional hearses. To be able to present such a wide variety of vehicles, the event was attended by some of the areas most exotic emergency vehicle collectors.

The All Emergency Vehicle Show returned to XXX Root Beer in Issaquah, WA again this Spring to benefit the Northwest Burn Foundation. The show was attended by the Emergency Vehicle Owners and Operators Association, Last Resort Fire Department, Rain City Hearse Club, and several independent vehicle owners including a contingent from Airport Towing & The Storer Antique Tow Truck Collection.

On display were many of the region’s most interesting classic and dynamic emergency vehicles including eight uniquely different fire apparatus. Flying the American flag high above the crowd was a 1969 Kenworth 100′ ladder truck; the only tillered KW aerial in existence.

Far below, the rest of the fire brigade took center stage, getting plenty of notice with their 1950 KW City Service Ladder Truck (The last of it’s kind for the Seattle Fire Department), a 1969 KW Pumper (equipped with a 1500 pound Fire Boss Super-K dry chemical unit), a 1951 KW Pumper “The Showcase of the Burien Fire Department”, a 1952 Diamond T Pumper, 1979 International, and a Fire Chief’s car.

If an award was given for most unique audible siren in the group, then it most definitely would have gone to the 1974 Volkswagen Thing. The German import proudly displayed a bright red and white color scheme, chrome accessories, a blue warning light, a soft top convertible option, and a very hard to ignore European siren that was able to drown out all the rest during the show’s audible siren performance.

The only other fire unit displayed at the show is just as often referred to as a “tow truck”. It is a 1954 Seagrave Aerial Tractor that originally traveled as a 100 foot ladder truck, but has since had the trailer section removed and is now primarily used to tow other fire apparatus of the Last Resort Fire Department. Regardless of what category the old Seagrave tow truck/fire truck fits in to, it is a guaranteed conversation starter.

The tow truck competition belonged solely to Airport Towing. Only two awards were set aside for competing tow trucks, one of which was presented for the purple hot rod truck with hand painted flames wrapped around a Holmes wrecker unit. The 1935 Ford tow truck proved to be a crowd-pleaser when the 305 cubic inch motor roared as it pulled in the parking lot. The unit that took the top prize for the tow truck category, however, was the two ton Weaver Auto Crane mounted atop a 1925 Ford Model TT flatbed truck. As the first restored tow truck among a collection of more than a dozen, the Model TT has always earned extremely high marks in motor vehicle competitions.

Airport Towing was proud to learn that all proceeds from the event were donated to the Northwest Burn Foundation in honor of Mark Storer and Brian Storer, the father and son duo who died tragically in a plane crash less than two years ago. Mark founded the successful towing company and ran the day to day operations for more than 20 years with his son by his side. The family was honored continue the legacy of remembering their loved one’s by helping others within the local community. The two were known not only as masterful tow truck operators, but for their big hearts and for consistently and selflessly giving to others who were in their greatest time of need.

Another tow truck that embraced the warm weather and appeared at the event was a locally owned and operated red 4-wheel drive Chevrolet Silverado  from the early 1950′s. The unit is fully functional and is still being used as a daily driver.

Not to be outdone by the strong showing of trucks on display, police cars arrived in full force, emphasizing the amount of dedication that is invested in preserving the history of local law enforcement. Private car collectors and local organizations displayed nearly a dozen Ford Crown Victoria’s, along with several retired Mustangs, a Chevrolet Camaro, Caprice, and even a 1976 Dodge Dart.

Many of the vehicles were complete with original or replica agency lettering like the classic black and white Ford Fairlane 500 Sheriff’s car that took up a significantly large parking space compared to the more modern police cruisers. The long body style of the 1960 Ford characterized the police vehicles of its era as being a sleek and powerful force to be reckoned with.

Providing two more large body historical cruisers for public display was the Seattle Metropolitan Police Museum. Their shining star glistened in the sunlight and drew in crowds of spectators who were able to get a look at the rare green and white beauty. The 1967 Plymouth Fury I is an original King County Sheriff’s patrol car restored to its previous grandeur.

Competing for the spotlight was the Museum’s other showcase vintage police car, a 1970 Plymouth Satellite used by the Seattle Police Department. The historical Chrysler was likely the fastest vehicle in attendance, sporting a 383 cubic inch “Super Commando” engine and a 4-barrel carburetor, which is likely to keep even most modern day sports cars at bay.

Walking down historical police car alley was certainly not complete without checking out all the equipment and memorabilia that accessorized the LAPD Police Car Replica, a 1956 Chevrolet. The car carried everything from an antique 1950′s police radio to vintage wanted flyers old time tv’s most dangerous criminal, Richard Kimble (The Fugitive). The car even featured a breakfast tray attachment for the drivers door complete with coffee and doughnuts for the hard working, early rising beat cop.

Though vintage vehicles are a hit at just about any vehicle show, the All Emergency Vehicle Show also featured an array of currently used equipment as well. The volunteers from King County Search & Rescue were on hand to hand out information about their program and to do some showing off with their off-road rig’s.

The U.S. military made their presence known by bringing a contingent from the Washington National Guard along with a customized Humvee to contribute to the competition. The American Flag draped Hummer with chromed rims carried a uniqueness that was rivaled only by the vehicles it sat directly across the parking lot from during the day’s event: a fleet of hearses from the Professional Car Society’s Northwest Chapter, who have been responsible for producing the event for the past four years. After a hugely successful event in 2010, the organization plans to continue the tradition and host the event at XXX Root Beer of Issaquah, WA again in 2011.

Weekend Parades & Car Shows

Perfect summer weather the last week of June helped local parades and community events to be more successful than previous festivities in years past. In South King County the weekend kicked off with the Seatac International Festival and Parade. The event featured international displays, foods, and entertainment at Angle Lake Park located in the city of Seatac.

Airport Towing participated in the parade during the morning hours of the International Festival. Driver/Manager Daryl Wilson and his supportive wife Heather showed off their hot rod tow truck that is stored with the Storer Tow Truck Collection. “The Flame” is a 1935 Ford truck complimented by a Holmes Wrecker Unit and a 305-cubic-inch engine. The Wilson’s proudly displayed large photos of the company’s founder and his son on the sides of the truck as they drove along the parade route. Founder Mark Storer and his son Brian died in an airplane crash nearly one year ago and the classic hot rod was given to Daryl by the Storer family.

Just a few miles away Victory Outreach Church of Seattle hosted their annual hot rod & low rider car show. Hundreds of people gathered to see custom rides, some that were dropped down to just a few inches above the pavement and others with hydraulics that were raised so high their wheels were coming off the ground. Most of the cars on display were large bodied classics that were either dipped, raised, slammed, and dropped with a full working set of hydraulic pumps in the trunk. Other vehicles included a variety of classics and customs, including Airport Towing’s 1933 Ford lowrider tow truck with custom chrome suspension and undercarraige. The Seattle area towing company participated in the show with two hot rods on display and also participated as a sponsor of the event. Upcoming events around the South King County area include the Des Moines Waterland Festival and White Center Jubilee Days.

Our New Video Page

Airport Towing has just launched the newest addition to our web site: a Video Page! We currently have 8 video testimonials posted from some of our customers around the greater Seattle area that called us for a variety of towing and tow truck services. Each of the customers have a unique opinion of the service that Airport Towing provided which they express as they tell their story in these short video clips. All the videos are posted at AirportTow.com are also posted on YouTube.com and you can now follow us on Facebook!

We believe videos are a great way for our customers to tell their story so that others will know exactly what kind of service to expect from our towing company. Our new videos feature testimonials of customers who called Airport Towing for anything from flat tire changes to winch outs, towing to local repair shops and even a customer impound from an apartment complex. We are also posting interesting videos from the towing industry and from around the Burien, SeaTac, Seattle area such as our newest video of a tow truck fire that we happened to stumble upon in Seattle last month.Our tow trucks frequently service customers in Burien, Kent, Renton, Normandy Park, Seattle, White Center, Tukwila, Skyway, South Park, Des Moines, Federal Way, Tacoma, and other outlying areas. Our towing company performs a variety of services from towing large trucks and semis to car jumpstarts and unlocks. We plan on allowing our customers the opportunity to express themselves through videos that we will continue to post online at AirportTow.com! Our latest video features a customer testimonial of a successful Bobcat winch-out / recovery. For more videos and testimonials visit our new video page and click on the video to play. If you like what you see, you can rate the video on YouTube and add subscribe to Airport Towing to be informed of all video posts. Add a comment and tell us what you think! We are excited to get feedback from our customers and from anyone else that can help us improve our overall business and our website.