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Growth Continues
By 1965, the Burke VFRD had five fire trucks and one carry-all ambulance: a 1950
Chevrolet Pumper, a 1952 Ford Pumper, a 1960 Dodge Pumper (Brush Truck),
a 1963 Ford Pumper, a Rescue Boat, a 1964 Chevrolet Ambulance and a 1965
Jeep. This equipment was manned by four career firefighters and 58 volunteers.
The first due area population had increased to 18,000 people. In 1966,
the department purchased a new Cadillac Ambulance, and in 1967 the station
bought a 1966 Seagrave pumper. By 1969, there were 7 career firefighters
assigned to the station.
By 1971, the BVFRD had increased its call volume to more than 1,000 alarms
a year. These emergencies included auto accidents, fires and rescue calls.
By 1974, the Burke VFRD was responding to more than 1,300 calls per year.
The department covered 31 square miles and 12,000 homes. The career staff
had grown to 15, and the department began offering Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
(CPR) training to the community. The station owned 2 ambulances, 2 Seagrave
pumpers, 1 Jeep, 1 boat and several miscellaneous vehicles.
By 1981, the fire and police departments, roads and schools were all feeling
overburdened with the growth of the Burke Centre community. What had been
envisioned by county planners as a community of 8,000 by 1990 had become
a community of approximately 27,000 and was still growing. The Burke Volunteer
Fire Department was faced with meeting tremendous new demands as all this
growth occurred.
In 1987, units from the BVFRD station ran 2,245 calls. Volunteer members
contributed more than 22,000 hours of service to the community on a volunteer
basis. Some of this was in the form of comprehensive CPR training that
was provided to the community at no cost. In addition, the BVFRD became
actively involved with numerous Boy Scout troops and Cub Scout packs in
our community, providing training on topics such as first aid, search
and rescue, fire safety and fire prevention.
By 1989, the Burke Volunteer Fire Department was the largest volunteer
fire department in the County. The department owned 7 vehicles, including:
2 fire engines, 3 ambulances, 1 heavy rescue squad, 1 brush truck 1 Cave-in
Trailer, 1 Boat, 1 4wd Utility Vehicle and 1 chief's car. The 70 Burke
volunteers and 30 County career staff answered more than 2,200 emergency
calls for an 11 square mile area with a population of 47,000.
In 1991, the members at the BVFRD put in a record 30,690
hours of service. Compare that to about 15,000 hours only ten years earlier.
Also in 1991, the department purchased a Pierce Quint, a hybrid vehicle
that combined the functions of a fire engine and a ladder truck. To this
day, the Quint has been the only kind of its vehicle used in Fairfax County.
It was traded in 2001 against the acquisition of two new conventional
engines for our fleet. The department also purchased a 1991 Salisbury
Squad. This vehicle was later to be the origin of the fire that devastated
the BVFRD.
>> Fire Damages Station
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