A Historical Review: 1942-1999
The 1940's
The 1950's
The 1960's
The 1970's
The 1980's
The 1990's
Prepared by Andrew T. Eastman
The 1950's
As 1950 rolled in the membership count was at 68. A total of 48 fire and 145
ambulance calls were run. The department purchased a new ambulance, miscellaneous
equipment and made numerous plant improvements all totaling $23,000. Plans for
an addition to the building began.
It was not until 1951 that mention was made of the number thirteen being
assigned as our company number. An appraisal of the department set the value
of the property, building and equipment at $50,000. The county’s support of
the department totals $4,910 designated for utilities, repairs, and equipment
purchases. In addition, the Fire Board (now known as the Fire Commission) paid
for the Cadillac LaSalle ambulance to be painted while the department’s Packard
ambulance was decommissioned. The Ladies Auxiliary established a building fund
to help in the expansion of a fast growing department, and a Boy Scout Explorer
post was sponsored by the department.
In 1952, an addition was built to the original firehouse. The efforts of the
Ladies Auxiliary resulted in a $1000 donation to the building fund.
Additionally, a new steam table, stove, fifty chairs, dishes, cutlery,
a three-way sink, miscellaneous kitchen equipment and mimeograph machine
were purchased. A central fire control system was installed in firehouse
to control the siren which sounded 338 times during the year representing
128 fire and 210 ambulance calls.
Modern restrooms were added to the firehouse in 1953. A second ambulance,
Chrysler, was purchased with assistance from the auxiliary and an automatic
door opener and light illuminator was installed in firehouse and linked to
the siren. This was the year that the first liability policy was executed for
the department and the first mention of the firehouse being used as a voting
location for governmental elections.
A rescue squad was formed in 1954 with 19 men. The total department membership
now stood at 114. The Ladies Auxiliary was growing quickly as well and totaled
127 members. That year they solicited bids for construction of a new kitchen.
A new warning siren to call the volunteers to duty was installed, and the 1937
LaSalle ambulance was sold. It was noted that Fairfax County, now with a
population of 135,000 people and growing, was becoming a strain on fire and
rescue resources countywide.
The department voted to sponsor a group to form the Jefferson Volunteer Fire
Department (JVFD) in 1955. Much as the DLVFD was an auxiliary company to
Vienna in the early days, the JVFD, now know as Company 18, would need to
acquire a building and two pumpers before being recognized as an independent
fire department. At Company 13, a concrete front apron was installed to replace
the gravel apron and a Maxim Model 1417, a 750-gpm pumper, was purchased at a
cost of $17,593. Overall the department ran 145 fire calls for the year.
In 1956, improvements were made to the side parking lot. The JVFD met the
prerequisites and became its own department. A 1946 Ford truck was purchased
and converted into a crash truck to haul extra equipment to incidents. Mr.
John Z. Davis, a founding member, an active Director on the Board, and former
Chief dies.
Politics in the fire service were not uncommon back in 1957. The Board of
Trustees voted to oppose a member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
to sit on the Fire Board. The department successfully convinced the state to
install a signal light at Route 7, Leesburg Pike and Dunn Loring Road. A new
overhead bay door, a police radio, and a water fountain were purchased. The
Maxim GMC pumper and Ford pickup truck were repainted, new hose racks
installed, and a GMC pumper from Silver Hill Fire Department was purchased.
The total number of fire calls was 194, while the ambulance responded to 364
calls.
1958 saw the formation of the department’s bowling and baseball teams.
Changes were made to unit designators: ambulances were now called "rescue",
squad trucks would now be called "squad trucks", and ladder trucks would
simply be called "trucks". When dispatched, the designator would be followed
with the company number, for example: Rescue 13. To avoid confusion, the
police requested all fire department members be identified on scene with
identification cards or badges. Meanwhile, the use of red lights and fire
tags on privately owned vehicles was rescinded. The department sold the Ford
pickup truck and Company 13 ran 181 fire calls and 365 ambulance calls that year.
It was in 1959 that the department traded the 1953 Chrysler ambulance for a
1960 M&M Cadillac ambulance. The GMC pumper was converted to squad truck. A
45- by 60-foot addition to the building was constructed. A motion was
carried by the membership to paint "Fairfax County" on side of Dunn Loring
apparatus. This was the first year paid firefighters were placed in the
department by the county. Selected by the Board of Trustees and paid by the
county, three firefighters were now in the station to provide staggered
coverage from 0700 to 1900 hours Monday through Friday. The first paid
firefighters were all previously volunteers and remained members of the
department. In a growing trend, ambulance calls were up by 63 to a 1959
total of 428.
More History: The 1960's