Muster on the Mountain

Fire trucks and crews from all around the region descended on Virginia City for the Muster on the Mountain event.

On display for the C Street parade Saturday morning were a multitude of antique fire engines, brought to the Comstock from all over Northern California and Nevada. One hand-pump engine belonging to the San Francisco Fire Department Historical Society is 200 years old.

After the parade, the crews and crowd gathered on E Street for the muster competition, sanctioned by the California Firemen's Muster Association. Engine crews battled against the clock to see how fast they could lay out 200 feet of fire hose and knock down a target with the water stream. Spectators standing downstream were occasionally showered with cold water from errant hoses.

There were different categories for motorized and hand-powered engines, as well as hand-drawn hose cart races and a bucket brigade competition.

A street dance followed later in the evening in the Delta parking lot next to the Bucket of Blood Saloon.

The event was organized by the Comstock Firemen's Museum/-

Liberty Engine Co. No. 1, which is celebrating 30 years of preserving the history of firefighting on the Comstock. The group has obtained and restored many antique pieces of fire equipment, including a 1879 Clapp & Jones horse-drawn steam fire engine. Other pieces are on display at the museum on C Street.