Ashes to ashes: The inside of fire truck 'cemetery'

By Bunmi Adigun @Bunmi_Adigun

A FIRE engine cemetery in France is home to dozens of abandoned fire trucks

Scroll down for the full story

Tweet Share
PRO
Many of the fire trucks have been left in the warehouse for decades

Located in rural France, the fire engine graveyard is what could only be described as the last resting place for old fire engines - with some being 100 years old.

PRO
Photographer Michel Vincent found out about the warehouse through rumours about the place

Covered in years of dust the old-school vehicles transport you back to a time in early automotive history with some of the trucks dating back to the early 20th century.

PRO
Michel and a friend scoured the internet until they found the location of the warehouse

Belgian photographer and urban explorer, Michel Vincent, 55, managed to locate the warehouse that is home to the firetrucks after hearing rumours of the ‘cemetery’.

PRO
Several locations around France are used to store the old fire trucks

He said: “I first saw a picture of the place with my friend and we started looking for information about it. After searching on the internet we finally found the location.”

PRO
Fire trucks are stored in warehouses around the country in the hopes of going to a museum

Michel first got into urban exploring three years ago and combined it with his passion for photography after an injury forced him to take it more seriously.

PRO
The 55-year-old has been an urban explorer for three years

He said: “I was a jogger and I bought myself a little camera to take pictures with during my jogs. I had to stop running for a few months due to back pain and that’s when I took more of an interest in photography.

PRO
The photographer took up urban exploring after getting injured while jogging

“I bought a good camera and started to search for old buildings, houses and churches and I haven’t run since.”

The warehouse was set up by French authorities as a means to preserve a piece of firefighting history.

PRO
On his return to the 'cemetery' Michel was surprised to find the trucks have now gone

Several secret locations around the country are used to store the disused trucks in the hopes that one day they can be placed in a museum.

And since taking the pictures the photographer was shocked to find on his return to the warehouse that the trucks were gone.

He said: “The warehouse is completely empty now, I don’t know where they put all of the trucks.”