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                  Victoria Fire & Rescue      

                     History

It was in the early fall of the year 1940 that the Victoria Rotary Club received a letter from the Virginia State Board of Education inquiring if the club would like for their representatives to come and give a talk to the Club on how a volunteer fire department might be organized for Victoria.  The club, with the exception of one or two members, favored inviting this quest speaker, and in early September of this same year, Mr. W. E. Hill came to Victoria to speak to the Rotary Club following its noon luncheon.  When Mr. Hill got up to speak the Mayor of the town left the meeting room.  When stopped outside and questioned by another Rotarian as to his leaving, he replied, "If you start a fire department they will soon be asking the town for money."  (This is mentioned to give a side-light of the task facing anyone trying to organize a fire department, and is not meant to cast reflection on anyone, for the normal reaction in any new undertaking is," what is it going to cost us.") Following Mr. Hill's address and the explanation of how Victoria might have a volunteer fire department and what the State Board of Education would do to assist them, the club went on record to request the State Board of Education to teach a class in fire training in Victoria and the Rotary Club would try to interest as many citizens as possible to take this course.  The Rotary Club appointed R. W. Williams and Sterling H. Wilkes to try and contact as many men as possible to attend this course in fire training which would begin on October 31 , 1940.   These two men were able to interest about twenty-five men in attending the first meeting of the class held in the high school and at Mr. Hill's suggestion, the group elected officers for the Victoria Volunteer Fire Department until the completion of the training course.

Those present elected W. C. Swain as Chief, S. H. Wilkes as Assistant Chief, and, W. C. Brame, Secretary. These men were to serve until the completion of the fire training course at which time those men passing the course and state exam would gather to form the first trained fire department for Victoria.   The state course was taught one night a week from 7 P.M. until 10 P.M. for a period of ten weeks giving a thirty-hour course. The attendance of those most interested was very good with visitors present at most every class meeting, as well as some members of the Rotary Club, who sponsored the training class.  Visitors present on numerous occasions were R. B. Seaborne, R. M. Williams, E. C. Glover, Jr., H. L. Blanton, and Roscoe Carden, with the following men taking the training course: W. C. Swain, S. H. Wilkes, R. W. Williams, W. C. Brame, M. T. Cox, L. L. Parrish, E. W. Gee, J. H. Moore, J. W. Connor, George E. Gallion and Charles Gallion.  There were others present at some of the class meetings but the above eleven men completed the course and on January 9th, 1941 the state exam was given to these men.   All of them passed with a good grade.   Following the announcement of grades, several visitors spoke words of encouragement to the men to continue their good work and form a Fire Department. Those speaking words of encouragement to the class were:  E. C. Glover, Jr., R. M. Williams, then President of the Victoria Rotary Club, and H. L. Blanton.    Following these words the men agreed to meet on Thursday night, January 16, 1941, for formation of Victoria's first volunteer fire department of trained men with the assistance of Mr. William I. Hill of the State Department.

At the meeting on January 16, 1941, W. C. Swain was elected Chief, J. H. Moore was elected Assistant Chief; R. W. Williams was elected Captain and W. C. Brame was elected Secretary - Treasurer.   It was also decided to continue the weekly meetings on each Thursday night at 7:30 P.M. in the school. Realizing the need of rules and regulations R. W. Williams and W. C. Brame were appointed as a Bylaw Committee to draw up the necessary rules and regulations for the operation of the organization.  Through the interest of Rotarian E. C. Glover, Jr., a member of the Town Council, the Council was informed of the good work and pains of organization, as well as the determination of the new men of Victoria Fire Department.  With the help of another Rotarian and Councilman, E. L. Gee, who had been kept posted on the formation of the fire department by his son, E. W. Gee, a Charter Member, the council asked Glover and Gee to look into the matter of just what the town now had to offer in the way of fire fighting equipment to these new volunteers.  The report showed a Model "T" chemical truck that was beyond reasonable repair and usage, and a Model "A" pickup used as a hose carrier for the 2\'bd " fire hose the town owned, which was very little at that time.   All this was being housed in a garage on Seventh Street. When the town council considered this matter they asked for bids for the construction of a twin driveway fire house and meeting room.  The Victoria Supply Company was awarded the contract to construct this fire house which was to be a masonry building twenty-four feet wide and forty-eight feet in length with a full basement.    Work was started on February 7, 1941.

On March 10, 1941, Mayor R. E. Stables was called to the site, and before a small but proud group of volunteers and workmen, laid the cornerstone of Victoria's first fire house.

The committee of Town Council, Mr. Glover and Mr. Gee continued to push for tools for the firemen to work with and on February 14, 1941, a contract was signed with the Oren Fire Apparatus Division of the Roanoke Welding & Equipment Company in Roanoke, Va., to build a fire truck on a Chevrolet chassis. It would have a water tank and a single stage Hale pump with other items of fire tools such as one hundred fifty gallons ladders, axe, pike pole, booster reel, suction hose, nozzles, hose adapters, etc.

The committee assigned to work out a suitable set of rules and regulations for guidance of the firemen brought forth by-laws which were accepted by the volunteers and sent on to the Town Council, who on March 11, 1941 adopted and approved these By-laws as the official by-laws of the Victoria Fire Company.  The fire house was rapidly being completed and the volunteers began to work on a suitable fire alarm system for the town and after some discussion and investigation, the town decided to purchase for them a 5 H.P. siren to be mounted on the roof of the new fire house.  The volunteers were able to secure an old windmill tower and, using this as a base for the siren, mounted it on the roof of the fire house where it remained until the summer of 1994 sounding the alarm to call  the volunteers.

In the meantime the volunteers were being tested with their first real fire call which occurred on March 22, 1941. At 3:30 P.M. in the afternoon there was a fire at the home of Mrs. W. E. Dungan on the corner of 5th street and Jefferson Avenue (where Whit Hall later lived).  When the volunteers arrived there with their Model "A" the fire was burning through the roof and they immediately laid two lines to the scene of the fire.

The Editor of the Victoria Dispatch in the issue of March 28, 1941, reports: "The first hose line was put into use outside the house with Everett Gee and "Ma" Conner mounting the nozzle. Seeing that they were too close to the side of the house to put water on the roof they proceeded to move back to get a better range when both Everett and "Ma" fell backwards into Mrs. Dungan's fish and lily pond whereupon "Ma" Conner said to Everett Gee , "Get up !..... It's cold down here", as the water was almost two feet deep in the fish and lily pond. Casualties of this first fire, other than Gee and Conner getting wet, were: Willie Brame who caught hold of a red hot door knob and in doing so, whirled around and staggered back against the same knob receiving two good burns. Also Police Chief Slayton lost his service revolver while running to the scene of the fire. The revolver, which slipped out of his holster, was found some two blocks from the fire and returned to him later.

The volunteers had their second call almost a week later on Friday night, March 28, 1941, when they were called to extinguish a fire at the rear of the Virginian Drug company (where the Victoria Restaurant was later located) at 1812 Main Street, where a shed used for storage was on fire. This fire was confined to the shed and building next door and damage was slight being less than one hundred dollars.

The fire alarm siren was no longer new to the Victoria citizens and to comply with Underwriters, the siren was tested once each week and sounded on each Saturday at the noon hour. This began on April 25, 1941. During this time the firemen were in need of many items to assist them in their work and to raise some money they held their first fundraiser by holding a three day carnival in the Community Center on April 17, 18 and 19, 1941, offering to the citizens many games of skill and chance as well as the carnival game of bingo. Some funds were raised for the needs. On Sunday, April 20, 1941 at 2:30 P.M. the firemen received their third fire call to the sawmill of Mr. Thomas Clements on Tidewater Avenue (at what is now a factory site at the corner of Tidewater & Railroad Ave.) This was a hot fire and gave the firemen much trouble before they were able to extinguish it completely.

In June of 1941 on the 12th of the month, it was decided to change the time of testing the siren from noon on Saturday, to 7:00 P.M. each Thursday Night.  This new time would remind the firemen of their weekly meeting, now being held in the new fire house.  Previous meetings had been moved from the High School to the Community Center.  The testing of the siren also would remind the citizens that their firemen were meeting to work and continue a good volunteer fire company.  The Editor of the Victoria Dispatch commented on this change in the June 13, 1941 issue: "The Victoria Fire Department purchased and installed last week a new fire siren, and believe me if you don't hear this one you will not hear Gabriel when he blows his horn on Judgment day.  They are going to change the practice (testing) time of sounding the siren from Saturday at Noon to 7 P.M.  on Thursday evenings.  If you hear something that sounds like the wailing of all the imps in Hades, don't just bust a trace and run away. It's just the new fire siren."

The volunteers first issued their call for new members through the June 13th issue of the local paper as they could see the great need for more trained men, and with the anticipation of a new fire truck they really wanted to "get in business".   On the day of installing the fire siren a most unusual event took place.  Everett Gee and Robert Williams were making the installation and wiring when Everett stated, "Well, that's all done."    The two men got brooms and began to sweep up the new fire house.    At that time the siren went off and Gee remarked, "Oh well, I must have crossed a wire somewhere" and they immediately pushed the "off" button but the siren sounded again whereupon they answered the telephone and found out that they had a fire call to the farm of Mr. Moses on the end of Mecklenburg Avenue.   When they arrived there they saw smoke and flames coming from a very small building which they found to be a "Johnny house" (or outside toilet), still commonly in use in those days in rural communities.  However, in this case the occupants had hung hog meat in the building and had started a smoking fire to cure the meat.  The fire had gotten out of hand and the only thing the firemen could save was the "hole".

On June 20, 1941, Captain R. W. Williams and Fireman W. B. Malone rode the Virginian passenger train to Roanoke, Virginia, to bring back the following day the new fire truck, arriving in Victoria around 2  P.M. amid the following of the siren on the truck and stopping it on main street for all the citizens to see.   On June 23, 1941, a Mr. Allen of the Southeastern Underwriters of Atlanta, Georgia, came to Victoria to place the truck under the three-hour acceptance test.  This test was performed at Nottoway Falls about seven miles north of Victoria. Needless to say, the truck passed the test with flying colors while many citizens from Victoria and the vicinity watched.

The Editor of the Victoria Dispatch reported in his Outside Column in the June 27th issue of 1941 as follows: "VICTORIA'S NEW FIRE TRUCK - Monday, most of the day anyway, was spent in testing Victoria's new fire truck at the Nottoway Falls. It was tested for two hours at full capacity which was over five hundred gallons of water per minute.  Then if was tested with small nozzles at 200 pounds of pressure and 250 pounds of pressure and it ended up throwing a stream of water almost to Crewe.  Most of the volunteer firemen spent the day with the apparatus which seemed to be under the personal supervision of "Buck" Millican.  Hughes Whaley was out there and when he found that you couldn't use the thing to catch fish he declared that he wasn't interested.  Irving Hardy was there casting that cold banker's eye on the situation.  I often wondered if bankers get that way from handling cold checks.  Ed Gee was there in a dual capacity of town councilman and guide for "Chubby" Gee.  Elny Hardy was there trying to negotiate the loan of the truck and equipment so Gee could get that 500 gallons of water per minute after the next fish fry.  Leonard Hatcher and some other railroad men were there also, figuring if it could be run sitting down.  In fact, most everyone who knew of it was there. For a pretty red fire engine will almost every time attract youngsters, and that includes ye old Editor."  On Monday, October 6, 1941, the siren sounded calling the firemen to the first real fire since they received the new Chevrolet fire truck.  The fire was at a house owned by Ben Hite and proved to be a test for the new fire truck with its booster tank.  Thanks to the new truck the house was not a complete loss and was later repaired.

As history recalls World War II was in progress and the firemen had been called to defense work and Victoria, under their guidance, had setup plans for the then new "blackouts" in case of possible bombings of our country.  Many Citizens assisted the firemen in patrolling the town and seeing that everyone and everything was blacked out during the simulated raids.   On January 19, 1942 the first official practice blackout was held, and with very few exceptions the town was completely blacked-out.  This continued for some time with more and more being required of the volunteers.  During this period the firemen offered their services to the surrounding towns in times of emergencies.  Captain Williams was asked to write to every Chief, Mayor, and Postmaster in the towns and villages of Southside Virginia and offered whatever service they might be able to render. Word was received from many towns thanking the firemen for this gesture and offering their services in return whenever called.  This was probably Victoria's first attempt at what we know today as a "Mutual Aid Agreement".  As the war years moved along the firemen lost the services of four men to the Armed Services, They were:   Maynard T. Cox, William C. Phelps, John E. Weeks, Jr., and Walton W. Williams. Of this group of men which left the company to defend our country, Maynard T. Cox and Walton W. Williams, gave their lives in battles over seas for our country.

In early 1948, on April 9th, the Company sustained its first men hurt in the line of duty and this was while fighting an automobile fire in Victoria when the gas tank erupted.  It spurt burning gasoline on the heads of the two nozzle men, Walter E. Rist and E. "Jake" Buchanan.  Outside of losing a little hair and the pain of the burn, these men soon recovered.

During 1948, the firemen had given consideration to the matter of incorporating the Fire Company so as to relieve individual responsibility, and also it would be beneficial to be incorporated as a non-profit organization under the Virginia Laws.  Early in 1949 this important matter was again brought to the front when the Company instructed the Captain to follow through and have the necessary papers drawn.  This was done and approved and sent to the State Corporation Commission who issued and recorded papers of incorporation of the Victoria Fire Company on February 9, 1949.  This was just another step in the right direction for a properly operated fire company.

During the summer of 1948 Victoria was struck by the tragedy of the deaths of three small boys while in the water at the old Virginian reservoir (located next to what is now the V.F.W. Hall) and soon thereafter, as many firemen had assisted in giving artificial respiration without avail to these youngsters, they decided to try and raise funds to purchase a resuscitator.   Information was obtained on several automatic machines then on the market and after some deliberation the firemen decided to try and raise funds to purchase a Triple Purpose machine.  This machine could be used as a resuscitator, inhalator and aspirator, but these machines were very high priced, being just under eight hundred dollars.   Nevertheless with the aid of all the men soliciting and demonstrating one of these machines, the firemen were able on August 23, 1949 to make purchase of an E.& J. Triple Purpose machine with dual control (for use on two people at the same time). The men and citizens of Victoria were justly proud of this newest piece of equipment.

The year 1949 was a busy one for the firemen for they started in early spring on work adding on a basement to the fire house.   They needed to dig it out and pour concrete to give room for a kitchen and dinning or amusement area.  First, though, they had to get rid of Everett Gee and Willie Brame's mule who had been doing "victory garden plowing" and a little sowing of his own.  After much hard work it was in the fall of 1949 that the basement was completed and now the firemen had a place to put a tennis table, a pool table and hold a few "eatings" together.  Yes, 1949 was a busy year for it was this year that the firemen decided to start a Junior Fire Department and in early fall the regular beginners course in firemanship was taught by the Captain with about twenty young people from fourteen years of age through eighteen years taking the course.  These young men were awarded State Certificates for having completed and passed the course and were allowed to elect officers for a Junior Fire Company. They elected:  Charles Foster, Chief; J.E. "Pete" Atkinson, III, Asst . Chief; John Waddill, Captain; and, Tony Clark, Secretary.  These men were allowed to attend fires when convenient and work under the supervision of one of senior firemen.  They were also honored, at the conclusion of their training, with a diner given by the senior firemen and at this dinner were issued Junior Firemen Badges.

On September 12, 1952 the newest fire truck in fire fighting costing $14,100.18 was delivered to Victoria and the following day found Underwriters ran the acceptance test, which the engine passed without exception.  Now that the new truck had been received and weighed 18,050 pounds, along with the 1941Chevrolet pumper which weighed 10,600 pounds.  The firemen began to wonder if the fire house would hold both of these heavily laden trucks without the floor giving away and dropping both trucks into the basement.  The year 1953 brought forth much discussion on the need for an addition to the fire house but funds were not readily available.

Upon completion of the new building the old fire bell, which had first summoned the town folk and then the firemen, was mounted in the center of the front wall of the addition.  The bell had previously been mounted on a small tower behind the town shop building.  But even while all the discussion and start of the new fire house addition dominated the scene another new venture was provoking the firemen to thought, and this was the purchase of an ambulance to offer the citizens of Victoria and vicinity with emergency ambulance and rescue services.  After viewing several (used) ambulances and looking into the matter in general, it was decided on May 23, 1954, that an ambulance be purchased, the one being selected a used vehicle purchased from Superior Coach Company of North Carolina. Thus, the firemen took upon themselves further obligations from which the citizens stood to benefit greatly.

In early 1955 the Victoria firemen cooperated with other fire groups in the Southside Virginia-area to organize the Southside Virginia Volunteer Firemens Association and expanded its offerings to many more fire companies from Altavista on the west to Amelia on the East and to Jarret and Virgilina on the south.  As the Victoria men became more interested they decided in early 1956 to place the name of their Chief, E . W. Gee, in line for the top office of the Association by nominating him at the annual meeting to be held in Chase City for the office of Vice-President. At the August convention "things" happened and instead of Gee being elected Vice-President he was elected President.

The firemen were aware that in May of that year 1958 that the telephone system in Victoria would go to the dial type and there would be no telephone operators in Victoria to receive incoming fire alarms (calls) as they had been doing for many years.  A plan to have the men at the Virginian Railway Yard Office accept incoming fire calls and to sound the alarm was "pushed" and after several months approval was given by the railroad and the men working the Yard Office were trained in receiving and sounding the alarm.  When in May the transition came from operators to dial phones the above plan was put into practice.  A special fire telephone was install- ed in the Yard Office, as well as a push button station for sounding the siren.  The plan of action worked better than anyone expected and appreciation is due all of the men of the Yard Office who worked this project, for without their assistance it would have meant that the firemen would have had to "man" the alarm system at least part of the time.

One of the great obligations on the firemen, and one that had grown so very much, was the operation of the ambulance for this was the only rescue/ambulance in the county and funeral homes in the county did not want the business. The firemen were being called more and more and with the ambulance getting older, it was decided to replace the engine and continue to use the same chassis until funds were available for a newer model.  All in all, 1958 was a quiet year, though the firemen had a better drill season than usual.

Upon application to the Virginia Heart Association for assistance under their program of furnishing certain items of oxygen apparatus to rescue units, word was received of the awarding of a Scott Inhalator Type A, with mount, for use in the ambulance.  This much needed piece of equipment was received July 7, 1960 and mounted in the ambulance affording the men sufficient oxygen for continuous administration on the patient enroute to most hospitals in Virginia.  All of this was donated at no cost to the firemen who were very grateful for such a donation, and especially for this particular type of equipment.

On September 20, 1960, the Virginian Railway Company notified the Chief that as of the following day the second shift at the Yard Office was being abolished and this would leave no one during the 4 P.M. to 12 midnight shift to receive fire calls.  Orders were given at once to change the receiving of fire calls from the Yard Office to the Police Dispatcher.   Due to prior work and planning for just such an event this change was made with little effort more than having a fire telephone installed near the dispatcher's desk and the locating of a push button control for sounding the siren near the desk of the dispatcher.  The firemen realized the advantage of this prior planning on behalf of the Town Manager and Council, and offered their sincere thanks, as well as their appreciation to the Fire-Police dispatchers for their cooperation.

In the early 1980s it became increasingly obvious to the members of Victoria Fire & Rescue that the condition of the building that had been home to them for so long was becoming increasingly worse and getting cramped for space.  The newer trucks of the day were being made on a larger scale, and did not easily fit into the current quarters.  The company at that time started a fund for a new home.

In 1986 Victoria Fire & Rescue placed into service its first Advanced Cardiac Life Support equipment.  Two members were certified to use the equipment at that time. This provided the community with an immediate upgrade in the standard of care that gave the citizens we serve a better chance of survival when their life is on the line.

In 1992 construction began what was to be the new home for Victoria Fire & Rescue.  After a lot of hard work by the membership and constant support from the community, Victoria Fire & Rescue left its home on Seventh Street and moved into its new home at 1421 Main Street where it is today.

In 1966 the company decided to convert the old twin driveway area where the trucks had been parked into a meeting room. The trucks would now have room to park in the newly built addition between the original firehouse and the town shop building.

It was in this year that after much deliberation the county board of supervisors agreed to give the company a grant of $1,000.00 for county firefighting.

The firemen were constantly looking for a better way to alert the membership of calls at night.  After looking at several different options the company purchased Plectron alerting radios for all of the active firemen.  These units could be activated by the dispatcher to alert the men of calls and special announcements.

On March 1, 1967 the company purchased a new Chevrolet ambulance with conversion.

In 1968 the company purchased their first Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus to aid them in interior firefighting.

Due to an increase in ambulance calls the company purchased another ambulance in October of 1969. That fall the aging tanker truck was rechasid.

In 1972 the company purchased a replacement ambulance to give the then tiring station wagon a break.

In 1973 the first rescue Annie was purchased for first aid classes.

In 1974 the Victoria Fire & Rescue Ladies Auxiliary was officially formed by a group of spouses to the firemen.

The town turned over the old town shop building adjacent to the firehouse to the company. This building was greatly appreciated and was eventually used to house the ambulances as more space was needed for equipment.

A set of air horns was installed at the fire station to aid in summoning members to ambulance calls when they were away from their radios. This system is still in use today.

In 1976 the company purchased two new pieces of equipment unlike anything they had in the past. A modular ambulance and new extrication equipment to include the Jaws of Life. These new advances in rescue equipment aided the company in providing a higher standard of care to the community.

In 1978 the company replaced the aging 1952 Ford pumper with a new Pierce 1,000 g. p. m. pumper.

It was also in this year that the company officially changed its name from Victoria Fire Company, Inc., to Victoria Fire & Rescue, Inc.

The first annual bucket brigade was also held during this year.

In 1980 the company replaced the aging converted oil truck tanker which had been in use for many years with a new Atlas 1200-gallon tanker.

This was also the year that the company began participating in the state fire incident reporting system.

In 1981 the company placed into service a new crash truck / mini-pumper for use at fires and vehicle accidents.

One of the older type II (van) ambulances was replaced with a new one of the same style.

The company also became concerned about the stability of the firehouse and began to investigate options for the repair of replacement of it.

In an effort to improve patient care the department purchased it's first Hospital Emergency Ambulance Radio, often called HEAR. Thus enabling communications between the ambulance attendants and the physicians at the receiving hospitals.

In 1982 The Company purchased radio pagers for the active members of the department to better enable them to receive calls while on the go.

In 1983 the company purchase HEAR radios for the two ambulances that did not have hem and began carrying drug boxes to supply the members who were certified to administer certain drugs and intravenous fluids.

In 1985 the company joined the Virginia Association of Volunteer Rescue Squads.

In 1987 the company purchased a new Horton type III modular ambulance to replace on of the older van units.

Upon Delbert Garrett's completion of an Advanced Cardiac Life Support class the company purchased a defibrillator, and telemetry equipment for a major move toward advancement in patient care.

In 1988 the company received its Advance Life Support license from the Department of Health.

In 1989 the company purchased an Air Utility vehicle from South Hill FD for filling air bottles at the scene of structure fires. This gave the firefighters the ability to do more interior work at structure fires.

1990 found the members working on the land upon which they would build the new fire station on Main Street.

At the request of the County Administrator the company appointed a committee to survey sites for future dry hydrants.  These dry hydrants would allow fire trucks to refill their water tanks at several local ponds in the county.

In 1992 the company purchased a new Wheeled Coach type I modular ambulance, Chassid on a Dodge diesel chassis. This unit replaced the 1976 modular ambulance.

In May of 1994 the company moved to it's new home at 1421 Main Street.  The members were very happy to move into this spacious building with 6 bays, a meeting room, kitchen, communications center, and office.

In January of 1997 the company placed a new Medtech type III modular ambulance into service.  This unit replaced the old van ambulance purchased in 1981.

In February the company placed into service a new Pierce Quantum pumper.  This unit was an excellent addition to the fleet with all the latest in firefighting technologies.

In September of 2001 some of our firefighters went to New York to help with the World Trade Center.

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